1. I am still thankful for all of the help I received for Isabel's birthday party last Saturday. It was above and beyond what I could have hoped for and I really think the whole day went perfectly.
2. I am thankful for budgeting and finding a system that works for us in order to view everything quickly and easily. It helps me to see the numbers and the progress we are making on our debts and on our savings for the future. I am awful at math, but I'm definitely a numbers girl.
3. I am thankful that my family is supportive of my decisions. Granted, the particular decision I'm talking about (which I will share with you all tomorrow) affects me more than anyone, but they are always willing to stand on my side no matter what I decide to do, and I am thankful for that.
4. Here's a vague one. I am thankful that there are certain opportunities to grow. I'm not sure what the outcome will be, but I'm ready to see what the future may hold. I am in a pretty good place mentally and I know that whatever is supposed to happen, will happen, but I'm leaning towards a certain ending to this chapter. We shall see!
5. I am thankful for therapy. And I'm definitely getting my money's worth this week!
Showing posts with label Savings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Savings. Show all posts
Thursday, March 20, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
March Goals- Update
New Years Goals that will be included monthly:
1. Write in a journal every day- This is not happening anymore. I'm a little disappointed that I missed a few days, but I do plan on picking it back up. Writing in a journal for a year means a year straight, not necessarily January 1st- December 31st. It can be March 16th - March 15th.
2. Take at least one picture a day- Still going strong. I was better about using my actual camera for a while, but started relying on my phone again. It's time to start carrying the actual camera around again.
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles- Going strong and slightly ahead of schedule. This month has not been as high mileage as the last two, but I am still anticipating reaching (and maybe even slightly exceeding) my goal.
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak- Check! I am doing really well with my streak and am trying to go out for more than one mile at a time. I was falling back and doing the bare minimum for running and so now my goal is to do two miles a day with the occasional days of only doing one to reach my goal. Life happens sometimes and you only can make time to get out for a short run, but you're still doing it...
5. Track on MFP- As I mentioned on Saturday, I missed a day of tracking so I am starting my streak over. I was hoping to use it as motivation to track everything, however I already failed that task by only tracking breakfast for the past few days. I think the anxiety of planning and throwing Isabel's birthday party was covered up by eating. A lot.. I'm thinking of taking a quick break from tracking for the rest of the month and getting back in it full force on April 1st. I will still be very conscious of what I am eating, but mentally I need the break through at least my birthday.
6. Read two books- One down one to go! Although I've started the first chapter twice already because I can't seem to stay interested before falling asleep. I may need to start it during the day so that I'm not lying down while reading which makes me more tired.
March Goals:
1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick- Not yet, and I'm not sure if we will this month..
2. Take Isabel to Paint-A-Dream (as a family)- Not yet. She's going to be going up on the 30th for the princess party with the Frozen sisters, so this may not happen either. I will probably try to think of another date idea for us to do as a family, although we have done dinner out twice with just the three of us and that has been really nice.
3. Have a great 5K race with Isabel- Success! She did a fantastic job on the run and I am so proud of her. Her little legs worked hard to run with me the whole time and she only had one mini meltdown where she wanted to stop. We were at the halfway point and I distracted her by playing "I'm going on a picnic.." It worked and she finished in 41:31!
4. Throw Isabel the best birthday party EVER- I'm going to call this a success..
5. Update budget and track- still going strong with the budget and doing our best to get out of debt and build up our savings. Some days it feels like a challenge and like we will never be able to buy a house, but other days I feel like we're making huge strides.
6. Complete NMTZ Challenge- 3 on/1 off- Fail. Complete and utter fail.
7. Make progress on blanket- I think I've added a total of one row in the past two weeks. Need to spend some time focusing on that.
8. Do not go overboard (food wise) celebrating birthdays- So far I've done okay except for Isabel's birthday party. I felt good after Patrick's and Isabel's actual birthday dinners though, so that's a plus!
1. Write in a journal every day- This is not happening anymore. I'm a little disappointed that I missed a few days, but I do plan on picking it back up. Writing in a journal for a year means a year straight, not necessarily January 1st- December 31st. It can be March 16th - March 15th.
2. Take at least one picture a day- Still going strong. I was better about using my actual camera for a while, but started relying on my phone again. It's time to start carrying the actual camera around again.
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles- Going strong and slightly ahead of schedule. This month has not been as high mileage as the last two, but I am still anticipating reaching (and maybe even slightly exceeding) my goal.
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak- Check! I am doing really well with my streak and am trying to go out for more than one mile at a time. I was falling back and doing the bare minimum for running and so now my goal is to do two miles a day with the occasional days of only doing one to reach my goal. Life happens sometimes and you only can make time to get out for a short run, but you're still doing it...
5. Track on MFP- As I mentioned on Saturday, I missed a day of tracking so I am starting my streak over. I was hoping to use it as motivation to track everything, however I already failed that task by only tracking breakfast for the past few days. I think the anxiety of planning and throwing Isabel's birthday party was covered up by eating. A lot.. I'm thinking of taking a quick break from tracking for the rest of the month and getting back in it full force on April 1st. I will still be very conscious of what I am eating, but mentally I need the break through at least my birthday.
6. Read two books- One down one to go! Although I've started the first chapter twice already because I can't seem to stay interested before falling asleep. I may need to start it during the day so that I'm not lying down while reading which makes me more tired.
March Goals:
1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick- Not yet, and I'm not sure if we will this month..
2. Take Isabel to Paint-A-Dream (as a family)- Not yet. She's going to be going up on the 30th for the princess party with the Frozen sisters, so this may not happen either. I will probably try to think of another date idea for us to do as a family, although we have done dinner out twice with just the three of us and that has been really nice.
3. Have a great 5K race with Isabel- Success! She did a fantastic job on the run and I am so proud of her. Her little legs worked hard to run with me the whole time and she only had one mini meltdown where she wanted to stop. We were at the halfway point and I distracted her by playing "I'm going on a picnic.." It worked and she finished in 41:31!
4. Throw Isabel the best birthday party EVER- I'm going to call this a success..
6. Complete NMTZ Challenge- 3 on/1 off- Fail. Complete and utter fail.
7. Make progress on blanket- I think I've added a total of one row in the past two weeks. Need to spend some time focusing on that.
8. Do not go overboard (food wise) celebrating birthdays- So far I've done okay except for Isabel's birthday party. I felt good after Patrick's and Isabel's actual birthday dinners though, so that's a plus!
Friday, February 28, 2014
February Goals- Update
New Years Goals that will be included monthly:
1. Write in a journal every day: I am still writing in my journal and still fighting the temptation to go through and rewrite it. It's a really odd thing to be obsessive about since no one is reading my journal and not even I am going back through and reading past entries. I may at some point though and I think that's what bothers me. There are entries that I wrote so fast I can't even figure out what it says. I really am regretting not taking my time to write neatly. I even knew at the time that it would be something that would end up bothering me and yet I still did it. What an odd thing to be complainy about.
2. Take at least one picture a day: I need to get better about uploading the pictures daily so that I'm not sitting here trying to upload a bunch of pictures to the blog and then trying to figure out formatting all in one day. It's annoying and irritating. I got the big camera out on a couple of occasions and really enjoyed taking pictures of the kids and am looking forward to printing them out and framing them. We don't have a lot of wall space, so I will have to think of something creative to do. I am spending a lot of time working on other projects, so it's been a lot easier to just take pictures using my phone. I am looking into prompts for March to try to spark some creativity because I am pretty disappointed with the photo quality for this month. I know I can do better.
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles: It really doesn't feel like much of a challenge when you are enjoying it so much.. Looking back in my mileage log I only made it over 100 miles in February once and that was in 2012 (and I only went over by 0.92 miles). This year I am definitely more focused and ready to accomplish my goal of 1250 miles in one year (and actually on pace to go well over that). I finished the month at 120.77 miles.
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak: Again, another challenge that hasn't been too difficult to keep up with. There is very little that will stop me from completing my goal of 500 days in a row. I've made it this far, there is no way that I am starting over now. Today is day 131.
5. Track on MFP: Most days were not 100% complete, but I did log on and had the best intentions every day to track and I call that a win. It means that I am dedicated to trying to make each day a healthy one. Whether it ends up that way or not is an entirely different story.
6. Read two books: Completed and happy to say that both books were really good. They were both by Nicholas Sparks, so not difficult to get through and of course touched the sappy romantic side. It's amazing how happy I can be in my marriage until I read one of his books and then start to wish my husband was more of the romantic type... But he wouldn't be the man I fell in love with if he was that way and I much prefer his sense of humor anyway.
February Goals:
1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick: Patrick and I went out for Valentine's. Although our plans got changed it was still a wonderful, simple evening. We did end up getting dinner at In-N-Out (which was amazing, as always) but the wait at the go kart place was two hours long. Since we were planning on picking Isabel up after our date we decided to postpone the go karts and go out for frozen yogurt instead. It was simply a wonderful evening.
2. Take Isabel bowling: We ended up taking all of the children bowling, including my niece. It was so much fun and I bowled my best game to date (a 182!). I have never bowled so well and was secretly hoping to break 200, but I think I jinxed myself on the tenth frame. It gave me some hope that if I actually put forth some effort to my bucket list goal of bowling a perfect game that I could at some point. Seriously though, before this game my highest score was at or around a 125 if that...
3. Plan Isabel's birthday party: There are so many exciting things happening with the planning of Isabel's birthday. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am for her birthday to get here already.. I am doing my absolute best to not tell her of my super secret surprise. I've already told quite a few people and want to keep it a secret because she is going to freak out. I think I said this at the halfway point, but I have a feeling that my ideas are going to fall short of my expectations but completely blow her away. There is nothing that brings me more joy than to make her happy.
4. Cook dinner at least once: I'm not sure if I can consider this "making dinner" but I did put together dinner one night by heating up a dream dinners and some veggies. I guess it's better than not being in the kitchen at all? Granted the purpose of this goal was to get me to actually prepare and cook a meal so I don't think I should count this. I did bake some delicious cupcakes though for Valentine's day. The cupcake mix was packaged and I made the frosting from scratch. Strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting, except the cupcakes were white and the frosting was pink. It totally threw a couple people off.
6. Spend less time on my phone: Still a work in progress. I find that there are a lot of things that I do on my phone (like track of MFP, communicate with my accountability buddies, banking, etc) however there are a lot of things that I can spend less time doing (like checking facebook). I have rekindled my love for pinterest as it is helping me piece together some great ideas for Isabel's birthday party.
7. Set up and stick to budget: I set up the budget for February at the beginning of the month and I have really been looking forward to updating it. I really love physically seeing our balances grow in our savings, our balances get smaller with our debts and overall seeing where our money is going each month. I'm sure once we have a few months completed we will be able to look over it all and see what needs to be adjusted (if anything) and continue improving.
1. Write in a journal every day: I am still writing in my journal and still fighting the temptation to go through and rewrite it. It's a really odd thing to be obsessive about since no one is reading my journal and not even I am going back through and reading past entries. I may at some point though and I think that's what bothers me. There are entries that I wrote so fast I can't even figure out what it says. I really am regretting not taking my time to write neatly. I even knew at the time that it would be something that would end up bothering me and yet I still did it. What an odd thing to be complainy about.
2. Take at least one picture a day: I need to get better about uploading the pictures daily so that I'm not sitting here trying to upload a bunch of pictures to the blog and then trying to figure out formatting all in one day. It's annoying and irritating. I got the big camera out on a couple of occasions and really enjoyed taking pictures of the kids and am looking forward to printing them out and framing them. We don't have a lot of wall space, so I will have to think of something creative to do. I am spending a lot of time working on other projects, so it's been a lot easier to just take pictures using my phone. I am looking into prompts for March to try to spark some creativity because I am pretty disappointed with the photo quality for this month. I know I can do better.
3. Run and/or walk 105 miles: It really doesn't feel like much of a challenge when you are enjoying it so much.. Looking back in my mileage log I only made it over 100 miles in February once and that was in 2012 (and I only went over by 0.92 miles). This year I am definitely more focused and ready to accomplish my goal of 1250 miles in one year (and actually on pace to go well over that). I finished the month at 120.77 miles.
4. Run at least one mile every day to continue running streak: Again, another challenge that hasn't been too difficult to keep up with. There is very little that will stop me from completing my goal of 500 days in a row. I've made it this far, there is no way that I am starting over now. Today is day 131.
5. Track on MFP: Most days were not 100% complete, but I did log on and had the best intentions every day to track and I call that a win. It means that I am dedicated to trying to make each day a healthy one. Whether it ends up that way or not is an entirely different story.
6. Read two books: Completed and happy to say that both books were really good. They were both by Nicholas Sparks, so not difficult to get through and of course touched the sappy romantic side. It's amazing how happy I can be in my marriage until I read one of his books and then start to wish my husband was more of the romantic type... But he wouldn't be the man I fell in love with if he was that way and I much prefer his sense of humor anyway.
February Goals:
1. Have at least one child free date night with Patrick: Patrick and I went out for Valentine's. Although our plans got changed it was still a wonderful, simple evening. We did end up getting dinner at In-N-Out (which was amazing, as always) but the wait at the go kart place was two hours long. Since we were planning on picking Isabel up after our date we decided to postpone the go karts and go out for frozen yogurt instead. It was simply a wonderful evening.
2. Take Isabel bowling: We ended up taking all of the children bowling, including my niece. It was so much fun and I bowled my best game to date (a 182!). I have never bowled so well and was secretly hoping to break 200, but I think I jinxed myself on the tenth frame. It gave me some hope that if I actually put forth some effort to my bucket list goal of bowling a perfect game that I could at some point. Seriously though, before this game my highest score was at or around a 125 if that...
3. Plan Isabel's birthday party: There are so many exciting things happening with the planning of Isabel's birthday. I can't even begin to explain how excited I am for her birthday to get here already.. I am doing my absolute best to not tell her of my super secret surprise. I've already told quite a few people and want to keep it a secret because she is going to freak out. I think I said this at the halfway point, but I have a feeling that my ideas are going to fall short of my expectations but completely blow her away. There is nothing that brings me more joy than to make her happy.
4. Cook dinner at least once: I'm not sure if I can consider this "making dinner" but I did put together dinner one night by heating up a dream dinners and some veggies. I guess it's better than not being in the kitchen at all? Granted the purpose of this goal was to get me to actually prepare and cook a meal so I don't think I should count this. I did bake some delicious cupcakes though for Valentine's day. The cupcake mix was packaged and I made the frosting from scratch. Strawberry cupcakes with vanilla frosting, except the cupcakes were white and the frosting was pink. It totally threw a couple people off.
6. Spend less time on my phone: Still a work in progress. I find that there are a lot of things that I do on my phone (like track of MFP, communicate with my accountability buddies, banking, etc) however there are a lot of things that I can spend less time doing (like checking facebook). I have rekindled my love for pinterest as it is helping me piece together some great ideas for Isabel's birthday party.
7. Set up and stick to budget: I set up the budget for February at the beginning of the month and I have really been looking forward to updating it. I really love physically seeing our balances grow in our savings, our balances get smaller with our debts and overall seeing where our money is going each month. I'm sure once we have a few months completed we will be able to look over it all and see what needs to be adjusted (if anything) and continue improving.
Monday, February 24, 2014
2000 Miles
I ran my first race March 27, 2010.
I started training for my first marathon in August of 2011.
I started logging my miles January 1, 2012.
I don't know why I waited so long to start tracking. Probably because I didn't think this would be something I would still be doing 2 years later. Most likely because I knew my OCD would kick in and I would end up writing and re-writing the mileage multiple times in multiple journals. No matter the reason why, I am so glad that I eventually started logging so that I could see the miles add up over time into what is now my journal of numbers.
I don't write much other than the date, daily miles, monthly miles, yearly miles and total miles. I don't write a course, how I was feeling, pace, etc. Maybe that would have been a smart idea but I really am not going to focus on the would have/could have/should have and instead focus on the milestones that I have made over this time.
I decided that I would track walking and/or running miles in this log. Only those exercises that were a conscious effort on my part (not steps per day by pedometer).
There were some great months (like last month where I walked and/or ran 146.98 miles) and some not so great months (the entire month of April 2013 totaled 0 miles since I had surgery in March of that year). No matter how many miles, I logged them.
Finally, over a total of 26 months, I have reached the 2000 mile milestone.
This is not something that I ever thought I would track or be excited about, however here we are and I am in full celebration mode. My half marathon yesterday brought me over and I am looking forward to continuing adding those miles on.
It definitely helps that I am paying myself $1 for every 1 mile I walk and/or run. It's adding up and I feel like paying for the Dopey Challenge is not going to feel like such a financial burden.
I started training for my first marathon in August of 2011.
I started logging my miles January 1, 2012.
I don't know why I waited so long to start tracking. Probably because I didn't think this would be something I would still be doing 2 years later. Most likely because I knew my OCD would kick in and I would end up writing and re-writing the mileage multiple times in multiple journals. No matter the reason why, I am so glad that I eventually started logging so that I could see the miles add up over time into what is now my journal of numbers.
I don't write much other than the date, daily miles, monthly miles, yearly miles and total miles. I don't write a course, how I was feeling, pace, etc. Maybe that would have been a smart idea but I really am not going to focus on the would have/could have/should have and instead focus on the milestones that I have made over this time.
I decided that I would track walking and/or running miles in this log. Only those exercises that were a conscious effort on my part (not steps per day by pedometer).
There were some great months (like last month where I walked and/or ran 146.98 miles) and some not so great months (the entire month of April 2013 totaled 0 miles since I had surgery in March of that year). No matter how many miles, I logged them.
Finally, over a total of 26 months, I have reached the 2000 mile milestone.
This is not something that I ever thought I would track or be excited about, however here we are and I am in full celebration mode. My half marathon yesterday brought me over and I am looking forward to continuing adding those miles on.
It definitely helps that I am paying myself $1 for every 1 mile I walk and/or run. It's adding up and I feel like paying for the Dopey Challenge is not going to feel like such a financial burden.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Budgeting, Saving and Becoming Debt Free
Patrick and I have been working on our debt, trying to build our savings and all around attempting to budget our money for awhile now. I was recommended a budgeting website probably a good three years ago and have been using it ever since. Mint.com has been an amazing help to me (and I barely use any of the functions for it).
I am a very visual person, so seeing our budgets laid out helps me see where we can cut back and where we can adjust to make room for other things. I am able to see our debts (and adjust them as needed) which plays a part in seeing our networth (assets-debts). I have really enjoyed keeping track of these things and at the same time watching our debts decrease and our networth increase.
I have so many goals when it comes to our money. Shortly after Patrick and I got married we combined our finances over to my bank (we did this for the simple fact that I had already opened ten savings accounts at my bank). I also preferred to then be in charge of our finances- where the money goes, transferring to each savings account, paying the bills, etc. It is not that I didn't trust him with our money, but the fact that he never used a check registry honestly scared me a little. My slight obsessive compulsive side needed to see it all laid out and I was happy when he agreed to let me be in charge (with his input, of course).
The reason we have ten savings accounts is simply because we are saving for a lot of different things. We currently have the following savings accounts open:
Marley- instead of pet insurance we put $25 a month away into a savings account. When it's time to see the vet we transfer the money over. This way it is not an added expense, but rather just a small unnoticeable amount set aside. We will also use this in case of emergencies with her as well as when we find her a new scratching post as hers is well loved, but in need of being replaced (those things are expensive!)
Isabel, Leah and Kaleb college fund- It is never too early to start saving for college! Right now we put a small amount away every paycheck and eventually we will be able to help each of the children with their future goals. We are well aware that college is going to cost a lot more than we can afford and unfortunately we won't be able to send them off with college 100% paid for, but we do want to be able to help. Even if it's only a small amount.
Dopey Challenge- obviously flying to Florida, staying in a hotel room and paying for registration to the Dopey Challenge is going to cost a pretty penny. I have been paying myself $1 for every 1 mile I run and although it won't pay for the entire trip, it will help the cost.
Vacation- this is another account that we put a small amount in each paycheck. We really don't have any trips planned at the moment, but the savings does help when we do decide to go somewhere. Again, it usually doesn't pay for the whole thing, but it does help the cost and who knows, maybe if we continue to save we can eventually go on a big trip to somewhere amazing.
Christmas- in order to budget our money better around the holidays we decided last year to try a savings account. We put money aside each paycheck and then transfer it over when we start our holiday shopping. I do believe that I spent over the amount in our savings last year, but I still stayed below our budget and didn't feel as though it was over the top (like I did a few years ago and went into debt because I just kept buying gifts).
Retirement- Even though Patrick and I both have a 401K account through our work, we did decide to start a savings account for when we retire. The plan is to use our 401K after we retire for bills and miscellaneous grown up things and to use our savings accounts to travel.
New car- Patrick's car is going to be the first to go between the two of ours. He's put many miles on it on the trips down to pick up his children and back to drop them off. It comes at kind of a good time because we want to wait until we get out of debt before we put on more debt with a car loan. We are starting to look at 7 seaters because we want to have enough room for the three children and maybe a fourth if our lives take us down that path in a year or so.
House- this is our top priority at this point in regards to savings and we are trying to put as much as we can into this savings account. Some months we are able to put in more than others, but we are inching our way to our goal. Once our debts are paid off we will be able to contribute a lot more and we are hoping to be able to reach our goal and start looking into buying a house sometime in 2015.
As for our debt... We have made a payment plan schedule so that we can be debt free by August 2014. We are hoping that we receive a tax return this year and we have already decided that half will go into our house savings and half will go towards our debt no matter what the return may be. We have also agreed that at this point we are 100% focused on getting debt free as soon as possible so that we can then turn our attention to savings.
Of course we're not cutting out everything and we also want to make our budget livable, so we've added budgets for running and golf. This way we are able to still enjoy the things we want to do while fitting it into our budget. We each also get a cash allowance each paycheck so that we can buy whatever we want, no questions asked. I think this helps a lot because that way Patrick doesn't have to "ask permission" to buy something and vice versa.
We are going to see how the budget we created works for a few months before altering it. I know that certain things are not exact each month (like gas and electric bills as well as restaurants, groceries, gas/fuel and even our income, among other things). I think the main point in creating this is so that we are both on the same page and both focused on the same goals.
I know that it felt amazing when we were able to pay off one of Patrick's debts last month. He had been paying on it for a long while, so once we were able to make a plan and get it paid off you could tell the excitement. The hope is that we are debt free before our goal of August and that we take the time to celebrate the smallest of successes, even if it's a simple high five when we pay off a credit card or make a payment. I think that's an important part of it- celebrating.
I know, for me, that it is nice to have it all written down and I can visualize what we are doing. Like I previously said, I'm a visual person. I also like to have goals and to work towards them. Buying a house is something that we both really want to do and the sooner we do that the sooner we can work towards certain other goals (like growing our family). It will help to have a bigger place, especially for when the big kids are here. It will also be nice to have a home. Not that we don't consider the apartment our home, but it can feel a little too small most of the time. I would rather being paying towards something each month that is ours at the end of it all.
I am grateful to have a roof over my head and I am well aware that owning a home is not all rainbows and sunshine, but I can picture the fence, Patrick in the garage working on rebuilding a car, the dog running around the backyard, the kids playing in the living room, me baking in the kitchen (that's big enough to have more than one person in it at a time). I want that and I am going to put in the work to get it.
Here's to being debt free in 2014!
I am a very visual person, so seeing our budgets laid out helps me see where we can cut back and where we can adjust to make room for other things. I am able to see our debts (and adjust them as needed) which plays a part in seeing our networth (assets-debts). I have really enjoyed keeping track of these things and at the same time watching our debts decrease and our networth increase.
I have so many goals when it comes to our money. Shortly after Patrick and I got married we combined our finances over to my bank (we did this for the simple fact that I had already opened ten savings accounts at my bank). I also preferred to then be in charge of our finances- where the money goes, transferring to each savings account, paying the bills, etc. It is not that I didn't trust him with our money, but the fact that he never used a check registry honestly scared me a little. My slight obsessive compulsive side needed to see it all laid out and I was happy when he agreed to let me be in charge (with his input, of course).
The reason we have ten savings accounts is simply because we are saving for a lot of different things. We currently have the following savings accounts open:
Marley- instead of pet insurance we put $25 a month away into a savings account. When it's time to see the vet we transfer the money over. This way it is not an added expense, but rather just a small unnoticeable amount set aside. We will also use this in case of emergencies with her as well as when we find her a new scratching post as hers is well loved, but in need of being replaced (those things are expensive!)
Isabel, Leah and Kaleb college fund- It is never too early to start saving for college! Right now we put a small amount away every paycheck and eventually we will be able to help each of the children with their future goals. We are well aware that college is going to cost a lot more than we can afford and unfortunately we won't be able to send them off with college 100% paid for, but we do want to be able to help. Even if it's only a small amount.
Dopey Challenge- obviously flying to Florida, staying in a hotel room and paying for registration to the Dopey Challenge is going to cost a pretty penny. I have been paying myself $1 for every 1 mile I run and although it won't pay for the entire trip, it will help the cost.
Vacation- this is another account that we put a small amount in each paycheck. We really don't have any trips planned at the moment, but the savings does help when we do decide to go somewhere. Again, it usually doesn't pay for the whole thing, but it does help the cost and who knows, maybe if we continue to save we can eventually go on a big trip to somewhere amazing.
Christmas- in order to budget our money better around the holidays we decided last year to try a savings account. We put money aside each paycheck and then transfer it over when we start our holiday shopping. I do believe that I spent over the amount in our savings last year, but I still stayed below our budget and didn't feel as though it was over the top (like I did a few years ago and went into debt because I just kept buying gifts).
Retirement- Even though Patrick and I both have a 401K account through our work, we did decide to start a savings account for when we retire. The plan is to use our 401K after we retire for bills and miscellaneous grown up things and to use our savings accounts to travel.
New car- Patrick's car is going to be the first to go between the two of ours. He's put many miles on it on the trips down to pick up his children and back to drop them off. It comes at kind of a good time because we want to wait until we get out of debt before we put on more debt with a car loan. We are starting to look at 7 seaters because we want to have enough room for the three children and maybe a fourth if our lives take us down that path in a year or so.
House- this is our top priority at this point in regards to savings and we are trying to put as much as we can into this savings account. Some months we are able to put in more than others, but we are inching our way to our goal. Once our debts are paid off we will be able to contribute a lot more and we are hoping to be able to reach our goal and start looking into buying a house sometime in 2015.
As for our debt... We have made a payment plan schedule so that we can be debt free by August 2014. We are hoping that we receive a tax return this year and we have already decided that half will go into our house savings and half will go towards our debt no matter what the return may be. We have also agreed that at this point we are 100% focused on getting debt free as soon as possible so that we can then turn our attention to savings.
Of course we're not cutting out everything and we also want to make our budget livable, so we've added budgets for running and golf. This way we are able to still enjoy the things we want to do while fitting it into our budget. We each also get a cash allowance each paycheck so that we can buy whatever we want, no questions asked. I think this helps a lot because that way Patrick doesn't have to "ask permission" to buy something and vice versa.
We are going to see how the budget we created works for a few months before altering it. I know that certain things are not exact each month (like gas and electric bills as well as restaurants, groceries, gas/fuel and even our income, among other things). I think the main point in creating this is so that we are both on the same page and both focused on the same goals.
I know that it felt amazing when we were able to pay off one of Patrick's debts last month. He had been paying on it for a long while, so once we were able to make a plan and get it paid off you could tell the excitement. The hope is that we are debt free before our goal of August and that we take the time to celebrate the smallest of successes, even if it's a simple high five when we pay off a credit card or make a payment. I think that's an important part of it- celebrating.
I know, for me, that it is nice to have it all written down and I can visualize what we are doing. Like I previously said, I'm a visual person. I also like to have goals and to work towards them. Buying a house is something that we both really want to do and the sooner we do that the sooner we can work towards certain other goals (like growing our family). It will help to have a bigger place, especially for when the big kids are here. It will also be nice to have a home. Not that we don't consider the apartment our home, but it can feel a little too small most of the time. I would rather being paying towards something each month that is ours at the end of it all.
I am grateful to have a roof over my head and I am well aware that owning a home is not all rainbows and sunshine, but I can picture the fence, Patrick in the garage working on rebuilding a car, the dog running around the backyard, the kids playing in the living room, me baking in the kitchen (that's big enough to have more than one person in it at a time). I want that and I am going to put in the work to get it.
Here's to being debt free in 2014!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Camarillo Half Marathon Race Recap- Race 2 of 13
Today was the second race for my Santa to Santa goal of 13 half marathons in 13 months.
Before I recap the race, I have a confession... I signed up for another race at the end of April. Bringing my total number of races in 2014 to 14, including the 10K I am doing in March. It also makes me eligible for an extra medal for the California Half Series, as long as I am able to be at the final race in December. I thought at first that I may not be able to be at that final race, therefore not being eligible for the medal, however I just realized that the last race is at the end of the month and not on the same day as Santa to the Sea like I had originally thought. As soon as registration opens I will be signing up.
Another quick thought... I may or may not be thinking about not doing the Dopey Challenge next year. Many discussions to happen between now and April with Patrick as well as internally deciding the best thing to do. Part of my doubt is financial and the other is my physical abilities. This first twinge of doubt may have happened during my very difficult run today shortly after I hit my wall. More to come on this (thoughts and opinions on this topic are greatly appreciated!)
Today's race was a mixture of awesome, difficult, exciting, windy and emotional. So many emotions, so little time.
I got to the race early and stood around waiting for the marathon runners to start. It was cold this morning. Not cold cold, like what the people on the East Coast are experiencing, but Southern California cold. I stood by myself, waiting, shivering, waiting and repeating. Then I was approached by a journalist from the Ventura County Star, the local newspaper. I was asked about my running history, when and why I started, etc. Not sure if anything I said will be used but it was a great way to start the day.
The marathon started at 7, and the half marathon not far behind at 715.
The course was entirely flat and surrounded by farm land on all sides. It was a beautiful and fast run. Up until the halfway point. I realized at about mile 6 that I could get really close to PRing if I continued with the same pace. My current PR for a half marathon is 2:39:00 and when I got to the half way point today I was at an hour and twenty minutes. I was using 30:45 intervals and decided that at the half way point I would switch to 45:30 in order to have a faster second half and PR.
It was right around this point that the winds picked up and the rest of the race was done with my head down in order to prevent dust from flying in my eyes. It wasn't too far into the second half that I began having trouble catching my breath and lowering my heart rate. I was also quite dizzy. It didn't take more than a mile to realize that I would need to fall back to the 30:45 intervals if I wanted to finish upright.
Around mile 8 I hit my wall and text both my mom and Patrick to provide some words of encouragement, which helped but not quite enough to make up for the strong wind gusts that slowed me down from a consistent 12-1230 minute mile to 13-14 minute miles. It was disheartening, especially while mentally struggling. My mom ended up calling me at a great point in the race, which forced me to stop running while I talked to her. I needed that break.
I ended up having to walk mile 12-13 completely as the winds were just too strong, but I made it and ended up running the last .13 miles to cross the finish line strong. Patrick was at the finish line for me and I definitely needed to see him when I turned the corner. I finished in 2:50:01 (unofficial time) and can honestly say that I am happy with that time. It was not my best race, but it was also not my worst run and I survived it.
This wasn't an exciting race in any way for me, other than it being new and of course it being another race I have completed towards my goal. I did a lot of thinking on this run, mostly negative. A lot of doubt and a lot of questioning of my capabilities, my goals, and my future plans in regards to running. I am hoping that my next long run goes a lot more smoothly than this one.
Then again, looking back, I guess I can also look at the positive side of things and realize that I dug deep and pushed myself to the end. It would have been very easy to give in and give up. I didn't do that though. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I just kept going and I plan to keep doing that for a long time.
Before I recap the race, I have a confession... I signed up for another race at the end of April. Bringing my total number of races in 2014 to 14, including the 10K I am doing in March. It also makes me eligible for an extra medal for the California Half Series, as long as I am able to be at the final race in December. I thought at first that I may not be able to be at that final race, therefore not being eligible for the medal, however I just realized that the last race is at the end of the month and not on the same day as Santa to the Sea like I had originally thought. As soon as registration opens I will be signing up.
Another quick thought... I may or may not be thinking about not doing the Dopey Challenge next year. Many discussions to happen between now and April with Patrick as well as internally deciding the best thing to do. Part of my doubt is financial and the other is my physical abilities. This first twinge of doubt may have happened during my very difficult run today shortly after I hit my wall. More to come on this (thoughts and opinions on this topic are greatly appreciated!)
Today's race was a mixture of awesome, difficult, exciting, windy and emotional. So many emotions, so little time.
I got to the race early and stood around waiting for the marathon runners to start. It was cold this morning. Not cold cold, like what the people on the East Coast are experiencing, but Southern California cold. I stood by myself, waiting, shivering, waiting and repeating. Then I was approached by a journalist from the Ventura County Star, the local newspaper. I was asked about my running history, when and why I started, etc. Not sure if anything I said will be used but it was a great way to start the day.
The marathon started at 7, and the half marathon not far behind at 715.
The course was entirely flat and surrounded by farm land on all sides. It was a beautiful and fast run. Up until the halfway point. I realized at about mile 6 that I could get really close to PRing if I continued with the same pace. My current PR for a half marathon is 2:39:00 and when I got to the half way point today I was at an hour and twenty minutes. I was using 30:45 intervals and decided that at the half way point I would switch to 45:30 in order to have a faster second half and PR.
It was right around this point that the winds picked up and the rest of the race was done with my head down in order to prevent dust from flying in my eyes. It wasn't too far into the second half that I began having trouble catching my breath and lowering my heart rate. I was also quite dizzy. It didn't take more than a mile to realize that I would need to fall back to the 30:45 intervals if I wanted to finish upright.
Around mile 8 I hit my wall and text both my mom and Patrick to provide some words of encouragement, which helped but not quite enough to make up for the strong wind gusts that slowed me down from a consistent 12-1230 minute mile to 13-14 minute miles. It was disheartening, especially while mentally struggling. My mom ended up calling me at a great point in the race, which forced me to stop running while I talked to her. I needed that break.
I ended up having to walk mile 12-13 completely as the winds were just too strong, but I made it and ended up running the last .13 miles to cross the finish line strong. Patrick was at the finish line for me and I definitely needed to see him when I turned the corner. I finished in 2:50:01 (unofficial time) and can honestly say that I am happy with that time. It was not my best race, but it was also not my worst run and I survived it.
This wasn't an exciting race in any way for me, other than it being new and of course it being another race I have completed towards my goal. I did a lot of thinking on this run, mostly negative. A lot of doubt and a lot of questioning of my capabilities, my goals, and my future plans in regards to running. I am hoping that my next long run goes a lot more smoothly than this one.
Then again, looking back, I guess I can also look at the positive side of things and realize that I dug deep and pushed myself to the end. It would have been very easy to give in and give up. I didn't do that though. I kept putting one foot in front of the other. I just kept going and I plan to keep doing that for a long time.
Total Time- 2:50:01
Total Distance- 13.13
Mile 1- 12:40
Mile 2- 12:08
Mile 3- 12:25
Mile 4- 12:33
Mile 5- 12:00
Mile 6- 11:54
Mile 7- 11:18
Mile 8- 13:08
Mile 9- 13:28
Mile 10- 14:24
Mile 11- 13:14
Mile 12- 13:46
Mile 13- 15:20
Mile 0.13- 1:39
Today's run brought me to completing over 29 miles of my 1250 mile goal. A total of 2% complete. And we're only on day 5 of the year. If I keep it up I should be at my goal in no time and that's really exciting motivation to keep me going. The more I do now, the less pressure I will have on myself to finish towards the end of the year.
Tuesday, December 31, 2013
2014 Goals
I'm going to go with the same theme as last year and take items off of my bucket list that I would like to accomplish in 2014. I am getting a little crazy with the number of goals I have for the year, but since I have a lot on my bucket list I guess there's no time like the present to do them.
2014 Goals:
1. Write in a journal every day for a year
2. Take one picture a day for a year/take more pictures in general
3. Run and/or walk 1250 miles in a year
4. Complete Santa to Santa (13 half marathons in 13 months)
5. Run at least 1 mile (intervals) every day for a year (which will also complete my mini goals of 100 days and 250 days while on my way to my main goal of 500 days)
6. Continue to track calories using MFP to reach my goal of 365 days in a row
7. Read 24 books in a year (including the one I am currently reading that I started in December)
8. Make 5 or more monthly goals and do them
9. Pay off debt and build savings
10. Set aside time to spend with Isabel
11. Make the effort to have more date nights with my husband
12. Sign up for the Dopey Challenge without feeling guilty about the money
13. Work on accomplishing tasks from my Day Zero list
14. Reach a healthy weight and BMI
15. Complete Jillian Michael's Body Revolution
16. Bake more and try new recipes
I have a lot of goals and a lot of places that I am tracking these goals. I think it will be good because it will hopefully keep me accountable to check in on them often.
Wishing everyone the happiest of New Years! Hope your evening is filled with friends, family and happiness. Here's to a happy and healthy 2014! Stay safe tonight...
Friday, December 13, 2013
Day 50
I have officially reached my first mini goal on my running streak.
I reached it a few days ago and didn't get around to posting this like I had wanted to, but I'm proud of it and felt like it's better late than never.
I had put a few running goals on my bucket list, five of them being solely focused on a running streak. I had attempted a Runners World streak and made it 31 days in a row before quitting while on vacation. I knew that I wanted to try again, but on my terms.
So I did. My goals are: 50 days, 100 days, 250 days, 365 days and 500 days in a row. It takes a special kind of crazy/dedication/passion to want to push yourself this way. I have received the same question repeatedly...
"Why?"
Because I can. And because 10 years from now I don't want to look back and think of all the things I should have attempted when I was younger. So I'm thinking of the crazy things I can do now and I'm doing them. Plus, the 1 mile = $1 sure helps build up the Dopey Challenge funds when you are running daily.
I attempted to run the Runners World streak the way they want you to. 1 mile running. Not walking, not intervals, no elliptical, not biking or swimming or hopping or skipping or crawling. Running. I laughed at the thought and then decided I'd try it. I made it quite a ways before realizing that I wasn't enjoying it. I was proud of myself, but was so ready to give up. So I switched to allowing myself to run intervals.
That didn't really help matters though and at the first opportunity I gave up my streak.
I had it on my list of things I wanted to do however I never started another attempt until one random day in October when I just decided to lace up my shoes and go for a run.
It's that simple for me. I just go out and do it now without thinking about it and without pressuring myself. Yes, there are days when I don't want to go, but I force myself to do the minimum one mile. I have gotten into the bad habit of only doing one mile on most days, but for now that's okay because there are so many reasons as to why that is the way it is right now. Once the new year starts and I start my goal of running and/or walking 1250 miles for the entire year I will be able to focus more on getting in longer runs and going for daily walks on my break at work.
Here's onto the next mini goal! 100 days will be here before I know it.
I had it on my list of things I wanted to do however I never started another attempt until one random day in October when I just decided to lace up my shoes and go for a run.
It's that simple for me. I just go out and do it now without thinking about it and without pressuring myself. Yes, there are days when I don't want to go, but I force myself to do the minimum one mile. I have gotten into the bad habit of only doing one mile on most days, but for now that's okay because there are so many reasons as to why that is the way it is right now. Once the new year starts and I start my goal of running and/or walking 1250 miles for the entire year I will be able to focus more on getting in longer runs and going for daily walks on my break at work.
Here's onto the next mini goal! 100 days will be here before I know it.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Streaking
While checking Facebook one morning in May I came across this:
I went to the website facts and realized that this was something that I thought I could do. I attempted to run a mile straight each day. I adjusted it to me and my needs and abilities by incorporating intervals, however I was able to run a mile straight most days.
Unfortunately my desire to complete this challenge faded pretty quickly when we went on vacation. Running a mile each day while we were gone was doable, but I chose not to for a variety of reasons. My streak ended on day 31 and in all honesty, I was proud of that.
But I've been thinking about starting another streak and since I was already running Monday-Friday last week with my long run on the weekend, I decided to just add a short run on Saturday to make it a full week. Now that I have the first week down I plan on continuing on to see how long I can make this streak last.
I'm going to start small and just attempt to make it past my current longest streak before I start getting bigger ideas in my mind. Although I am already thinking big. Who knows how long I can make this last!
I'm sure all of this running will help with the savings for the Dopey Challenge as well. The more miles I run and/or walk the more money I am able to put towards that goal. However, the main factor for me is to just listen to my mind and to my body. I am not going to push myself if I have any fears of an injury. My main concern is training, the streak comes second.
But for now: Caution.. Streaking in Progress!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Paying for the Dopey Challenge
A couple years ago I started training for my first marathon. I was running anywhere from 10-30 miles a week, not to mention the additional miles I was walking.
At that time I was also doing Weight Watcher's and was finding myself drifting off plan. I needed something to bring me back on track to reach my goal weight and become a lifetime member.
One day I was on the Weight Watcher's message boards and saw someone suggest that you pay yourself $1 for every pound lost or 25 cents for every activity point earned or every 100 calories burned. This way it was even more of an incentive to stay on plan or to go for a workout.
For me I decided to use this idea to pay myself $1 for every mile that I ran and/or walked with the intentions of going on a shopping spree with the money I had earned. I felt this plan to be manageable financially and it gave me the push I needed to literally go the extra mile.
I reached my goal weight and allowed myself to use the $1000 I had earned on myself with a shopping spree for new clothes to fit my new, smaller body. I had a blast treating myself and I felt like I had earned everything that I bought.
I tried this same tactic when I decided that I wanted to do the Goofy Challenge. It was a way to pay for the trip without feeling guilty and instead feeling like I earned it. But that quickly ended when I realized that there were a lot of other things I needed the money for at the time.
But I'm back to this same money saving tactic for the Dopey Challenge. I feel like it's such a positive way to save money. It puts focus on how I'm saving and spending the money. I'm not just spending money on a race, a flight and a hotel. I'm earning that trip and I'm earning the entry into the race. It makes me want to stick with my planned run and walks and it makes me want to go just a little bit further.
I know that I will not be near where I need to be to pay for the race, flight, hotel and extra money for food and miscellaneous items, but I know that if I try my hardest and can earn at least half of what I plan on spending for this trip then it will be worth it.
I highly recommend this way of saving for people who are in need of that little push to get themselves moving, or for those who feel guilty spending money on themselves like I do. It's such a great way to earn what you want by benefiting in other healthy ways.
But I'm back to this same money saving tactic for the Dopey Challenge. I feel like it's such a positive way to save money. It puts focus on how I'm saving and spending the money. I'm not just spending money on a race, a flight and a hotel. I'm earning that trip and I'm earning the entry into the race. It makes me want to stick with my planned run and walks and it makes me want to go just a little bit further.
I know that I will not be near where I need to be to pay for the race, flight, hotel and extra money for food and miscellaneous items, but I know that if I try my hardest and can earn at least half of what I plan on spending for this trip then it will be worth it.
I highly recommend this way of saving for people who are in need of that little push to get themselves moving, or for those who feel guilty spending money on themselves like I do. It's such a great way to earn what you want by benefiting in other healthy ways.
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