November Gratitude Challenge

For the month of November I thought it would be fitting to do a fun challenge on gratitude. The challenge is to post a photo every day of something you are thankful for. Each day needs to be something different.

Please feel free to join me and post your photos as well. Happy November!

Day 15-31: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

Hello! It's me again. I am still here I just have felt so busy that blogging slipped my mind these past two weeks. But I am here to summarize my experiences during that time. 

My parents came into town on the 15th and I did spend a little money ,that I had planned in advance for, but we had a lot of fun spending little or no money on our days together. The first day we were together we drove to the Hoover Dam. We drove to one of the parking lots above the dam and had a great view! FYI for those traveling to the Hoover Dam don't get trapped into paying 10$ for parking. When we went there were plenty of free parking spaces just a little further away.

Later that day we went to Boulder City had lunch at a little pizza place my Dad treated us. :) Thanks again dad! Then we browsed the antique shops. In the evening we just hung out around the apartment and talked and watched a movie on Netflix. 

In my mind this is a perfect way to spend a no spending outing with the family. If we had planned to bring our lunch with us it would have been totally free! 

The other fun things we did while they were here were walking through the Bellagio Conservatory and watching the Dancing Fountains. Taking walks to the park and enjoying the out of doors. 

So for the rest of the assignments I will try and keep my comments to a minimum. I haven't really been doing each religiously but somehow a lot of the assignments I did during the course of this month so I'll just tell you a little about it. 

Re-Fashion Your Clothes {Day 15}

Don't you know it. I didn't do any re-fashioning this month but I have projects ready to be made. For instance: Wide legged pants to turn in to skinny jeans. Shirts that are too big to be taken in. Etc...

Get Fearlessly Crafty {Day 16}

Did I tell you about all the pine cones Jack and I picked up at the park? Well the pine cone project is still waiting to be a reality. 

Free Halloween Costumes {Day 17}

I almost made Jack's entire Daniel Tiger costume for free! I just didn't want to spend so much time making a red hoodie so I bought it at the DI for $3 bucks. I even painted shoes Jack had already so I wouldn't have to buy new red ones. Not to shabby I say! 

Find New Uses for Old Things {Day 18}

:) This is right up my alley! I've made a few "upcycled" items for my Etsy shop. 

Silver platter turned into a stylish chalk board

Silver spoon turned into a napkin holder/ Christmas ornament/ Gift topper. So many uses for this pretty lady.

Homemade Spa Treatment Recipes {Day 19}

My version:

Coconut Oil+Essential Oils = As close as I got to "spa" this month.

Have a Spa Day at Home {Day 20}

I thought this might be really fun to do with a few friends. We could all bring a home made spa treatment and a snack and we could all watch a movie and get our spa on. 

Week 3 Reflection {Day 21}

I am hanging in there. Spent some of my cash money on thrift store items but stayed away from using the debit card. I think that is pretty impressive because I hardly ever have cash.

Sell Your Stuff {Day 22}

If you are my friend on FB you know I like selling my stuff. It's a fun way to make money and get rid of stuff I don't need. 

Get Free Money {Day 23}

In my experience getting FREE money takes a lot more time than I am willing to put into it. I tried doing Checkout 51. You upload your shopping receipts and if you bought the items they have on their list for that week they give you money. Once you accumulate enough money in your account they send you a check. They didn't have a lot of things I buy usually so I didn't make it to the mark where they pay me. But it when using it with coupons you could get some great deals. 

Get Free Stuff {Day 24}

Aww yeah! My take on getting free stuff is accepting every dinner invitation possible. I have my Parents and In-Laws to thank for this BIG TIME! 

I also get free digital coupons from this website. I found most all digital coupon sites have the same coupons up at the same time so it I just stick to this one. 

Try Bartering {Day 25}

I really need to get better at bartering. I love getting good deals. I shop at thrift shops and have started the Vintage Las Vegas Yard Sale in attempt to score really cool things and also sell some of my own. I would really like a yard sale buddy here in Vegas if anyone is interested:) Brady is in full support of me attending yard sales he just doesn't want to be there with me:) 

Have a Free Date Night {Day 26}

Date Night what's that? Seriously, Brady is so super busy that our idea of a date night is to go to bed early. Last weekend we had Brady's mom watch Jack for a few hours just so we could get some projects done around the house that would otherwise be impossible/ dangerous with a one year old in our way. So that counts as our free date night. :)

Free Family Activities {Day 27}

I've taken Jack to a opening of a new housing development were we got everything for free and we had a blast! I have noticed that there have been a few of those happening. The newspaper is always advertising free activities. 

Also I am a part of a Meet Up group for free things to do in Las Vegas. I haven't attended any yet but it might be a good place for anyone looking for something. 

Week 4 Reflection {Day 28}

I feel I am doing pretty good at not spending. I found that I planned more than enough for food. I am missing my fresh fruits. I ran out about week two. But we've had frozen fruit to replace it with. There has also been many times people have made/ bought us dinner so that made a big difference. I really need to come up with a 2-3 good on the go staples that I have on hand so if I'm out and about during lunch or dinner I have something to eat. 

I have also realized that I really like paying with cash. I know people who take a certain amount of cash out each month that they can spend on things they did not budget for before. I didn't see the value in it until this month when I tried it. I like being able to buy whatever I want and I don't have to keep track of my limit because once the cash is gone it's gone. 

Re-Assess Your Budget {Day 29}

A couple of months ago I have signed up for Mint.com. It compiles all of your expenses and assets in one place and has some great tools for making budgets and setting goals. This is partially why I decided on doing a no spending challenge this month. After a couple months noticing how much money we are spending it was clear that what I thought we were spending and what we were actually spending were two very different things. So this challenge has been a great cleanse to set up our baseline budget. 

Plan for the Holidays {Day 30}

I hardly ever think about this! And I've never really kept track of what we spent during the Thanks Giving and Christmas I don't even know where to begin. So I'm going to do my best and estimate what I think a good budget would be. Please feel free to give me any input.

What are 3 things we can do to help others?

1. Volunteer somewhere (I'll have to do some research as to where)

2. Random acts of kindness while we are out and about. (Having my heart in the right place to serve others)

3. Bring neighbors treats and get to know them better

What are 3 things we Don’t want to do this year?

1. Go to the mall!

2.

3.

What is most important to us this year? What is least important?

-The most important thing this year is giving Jack some fun Christmas experiences. Take him to do a lot of the fun community events.

-The least important is focusing on the gifts instead of family time.

Food Budget

-Thanksgiving: $50- We will be doing one or two dishes with our entire family so I don't think we'll have to spend more than that.

-Christmas: $50- Same thing. We'll see how it goes :)

Gifts

-Jack: $50- I'm planning on getting most of his gifts second hand since he doesn't know the difference and I'll probably buy a couple of outfits as well.

-Brady and Kelly: $50 each. I'm gonna see what Brady thinks of this. We might have to get creative:)

-Our Parents: $50 total. ???

-Sister Gift Exchange: $50. Notice a trend?

-Friends/Neighbors: $50. Why not?


Miscellaneous Holiday Expenses

Travel: To and from SLC Both at Thanks Giving and Christmas- $280.

Decorations: $30. I have a lot of cute home made decoration ideas so this is probably mostly just for supplies.

Entertaining/Parties: $25- no planning on entertaining but if I need to bring something to someone else's party....

Activities: $50

What (Not) to Do Now {Day 31}

How much money did you save this month compared to a normal month of
spending? Was it more or less then you thought it would be?

So this month we saved $400 from last month. I thought we could have saved more. But most of our expenses are bills and rent that pretty much fix our budget. The majority of the savings is from groceries we did have to pick up groceries a few times and we spend around $100 this month. I think we will be able to keep our food budget low in November as well since I still have a lot food in our cupboards. All in all I feel good that we were able to save. It's gotten me motivated to have more of a budget going forward.

What items did you put off buying this month? Which of them are things
you really need? Which of them are wants?

The biggest thing I didn't spend any money on is eating out. I feel like I did pretty good at making a meal plan and having food ready for dinner. We were less likely to run out and grab something to eat cause I just didn't get around to planning a meal. I am excited to be able to go out to eat once in a while for a date this month. It's nice to have a break from cooking.

I would also like to be able to buy fresh fruits and veggies. That is a lot of what I normally eat and I have really missed it. So I'm excited to get my salad on! But I can survive with out them.

What does your pantry & freezer look like? Could you make it another
month on what you have on hand?

I think we could probably do another month like the one we just had. I think I would just try and go to the store weekly to pick up the fresh fruits and veggies and use up everything else in the pantry and freezer we already have.

How has this challenge changed you? What are your goals for the future?

This challenge has been challenging at certain times. It's so easy to drop $30 bucks on take out when everyone else in your family is eating out. So it makes it hard to break away from that and decide to eat at home. It was also hard for me not to go to the stores I like. It's sometimes a stress reliever to just browse around and maybe buy a few things here or there. I really enjoy shopping. I know that it might not be the healthiest way to relieve stress. I definitely don't want to become a hoarder or a impulsive shopper. So I will be sure to keep to a budget when shopping.

I plan to keep to a budget and continue to try and use what I have first before running out to buy something. I plan on taking out cash for misc. expenses that I can spend on anything I would like and then when I'm done with that cash I have to stop spending. This challenge was a good reminder that I have more than what I need and I should be more resourceful and less wasteful.


Let me know how your 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero Challenge went...

Day 11, 12, 13 and 14: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

Oh hey... It's been a busy few days so I haven't been keeping up with the blog. It might have been because I just wanted to avoid cleaning assignments since  this week has been ALL about the cleaning {insert thumbs down}. But I try to keep things tidy. Although, I probably will be revisiting some "trouble areas" around my place because it's always a headache finding anything in our closets. This being said I don't have a lot to say about cleaning. So... I'm just going to skip to the week two reflection assignment...

This week I didn't really accomplish many out of the ordinary cleaning tasks but I was able to keep up with the laundry and dishes. You can start slow clapping now. Yeah it wasn't a lot but life will go on. 

I'm grateful for the blessings I've received this week from family and friends. First of all my little group of meal swap buddies made a successful hand off this morning and it felt so good to be able to have a meal handy that I didn't have to make myself. And the meal was delicious. I always think things taste better when someone else is cooking. Thanks Heather! Your soup was amazing. Can't wait to try the other two meals waiting for me in my freezer! So thankful for those ladies who are willing to help me out with that assignment. 

I've had many people feed me this week too. While I was in LA with my dad he treated me and my sister to lunch and dinner several times. It's so nice to have my dad around this week. Not only to pay for my meals but I just love being around such a nice sweet person all the time. Love you Daddy!  My mother in law was also such a sweetheart. I show up at there house unannounced near lunch time and she makes me lunch! I feel so grateful to have family so close. 

The biggest struggle for me is preparing for meals on the go when I know I won't be back home around lunch time. I always bring enough snacks for Jack so he wouldn't go hungry but I hardly ever think to bring something for myself. Luckily Jack shares is Goldfish crackers with me. 

My biggest struggle this week was the cleaning. I really was busy so I wasn't home very much and it's hard to clean and especially organize anything with a little 16 month old who really likes to me out whenever he can. Although he has been known to vacuum. 

I keep thinking about Jack and his Halloween costume! I'm having him dress up as Daniel Tiger. It's a really simple costume but I have been really wanting to buy him a little red hooded sweatshirt and some tiger looking pants. I just want to do it the easy way instead of asking around or making the costume with fabric and clothes we already have. But I am happy to say I have not shopped! And as I am writing this down I have decided for a certainty that I will make due with what I have. FIN.

How have your first two weeks going? If you are lagging behind like me on the daily assignments here is the link to the blog I've been following. It lists all 31 days of the challenge. So you can go through it at your own pace.

Happy Zero Spending!

Day 10: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

Day 10! Still in LA today I've tried as much as possible to not spend any money on unessential things. I was thinking a lot about traveling inexpensively today and how Brady and I have gotten really good at being frugal travelers and how much of a difference it made when we traveled to Europe. So I thought I would tell a little about our experience...

A little over two years ago Brady and I lived in France for about 8 months. We were living off our savings and the little income Brady was making as an English teaching assistant. We rented the least expensive place we could find that had a properly locking door. The door to our place was at the top of a narrow staircase and it looked like a small closet door.

Stair leading up to our apartment

Our apartment door

But we had the necessities... running water, bathroom, kitchen sink, hotplates, a "click clack" that was our couch when guests were over and our bed the rest of the time. It was little but we really enjoyed living in such an inexpensive place because we were able to use that money to travel all over Europe.

Our living space. On the left is the kitchen. The stairs to the right lead to a very icky loft we only used to put our suitcases. 

Our "Click clack" and to the right you can see our kitchen sink. 

And there you have it...

Our apartment was on the top floor. I loved those windows and the light they let in.

Since there were two of us most of the time it was cheaper to rent a car rather than go by train. We always took detours around toll roads and we mainly just bought our food at the grocery store. We would also stay at places that had a kitchen so that we could make our and it saved us a bundle. Staying in hostels was also a money saver. We did this a few times when we traveled through Germany with our friends. If you are with a group you can get a private room and it's sorta like staying in a hotel because we had our own bathroom.

My favorite trip we took was to the Cote d'Azur and we camped almost the entire time. Even after buying a tent and sleeping bags we were able to save a lot. We got to see so many things and learned how to not over extend ourselves. It's not the most convenient way to travel but it becomes easier if you practice.

My personal blog has a lot about our trip to Europe so if you want to check it out here's the link to the Briggs Blog.

If you are keeping up with the assignments on this challenge today's task is to clean and organize your kids' rooms. Luckily for me Jack's room is pretty much organized so it won't take too much time to completely organize and tidy it up a bit more.

I usually try and keep Jack's toys and clothes organized it when it comes to my things when it's a problem. I have a closet in Jack's room that I keep all my crafts and sewing things in. It's almost impossible for me to get in there and organize because Jack always wants to get into everything and then when he's asleep I can't go into his room. So this assignment is going to need a little help from my husband or grandma so I can carve out a nice chunk of time to get it all nice and tidy. I also need to finish some of the projects I started in Jack's room like putting up shelves and finishing the shades on his window and also above his closet to hide away our storage.

How do you keep your kids’ stuff organized? Do you regularly sort and purge, or is it something you normally avoid? What is for you the hardest part of getting rid of things? For more about today's assignment check out the 31 Days of Living Well and Spending Zero site. 

Day 9: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

Today was a great day with my sister and dad in LA. We did have a budget friendly breakfast of home made Kind Bars and fruit. Lunch and dinner we ate at restaurants but not ones that were super fancy and I had only water to drink. It is also nice to have a dad who will treat you to lunch :) Thanks Papa!

The activities we did today were inexpensive as well. The only thing we spent money on renting beach cruisers for an hour and it was well worth it. We road from Venice Beach to Santa Monica Pier and back again. 

The rest of the activities were free. After lunch we went back to our hotel to get cleaned up and took my little sister, Melinda to her job interview in East LA. We got to experience the horrific traffic on our way but when you're living frugally every experience can be an adventure. Right? After her interview we headed to the Griffith Observatory. We got there just as the sun was setting and spotted the Hollywood sign tucked back in the hills. We took a look around and looked through the big telescope they have.

After that we made our way along Hollywood Blvd and drove the walk of fame past the Grauman's Chinese Theatre then though Beverly Hills. By this time it was getting pretty late so we basically did the quickest drive by LA tour ever. I guess we didn't have to pay for parking so that's a savings right there! Finally we stopped and ate some delicious pizza and salad and made it back to our hotel by 10:30 pm. We had a great time together and so far have made this trip fun but frugal. 

Today's assignment was to start cleaning! It's just a shame I'm not at home to start... Below is a little check list to help you through your cleaning: 

Day 8: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

So I'm in LA tonight! My sister was passing though Las Vegas on her way to a job interview in LA and invited me to join her and my dad on an impromptu, once in a blue moon, road trip. Everything fell into place. Except this no spending challenge just about convinced me not to go. This brings up an important subject I a haven't addressed yet about this challenge that is clearly stated in the title of the challenge... LIVING WELL!

I thought about not going because I wanted to be really committed to this challenge. But I began thinking I can still work on spending zero or less than I normally would on this trip. So I didn't let it hold me back. So I'm here in LA blogging, and missing my baby boy. It's the first time I've been away from Jack since he was conceived! It's so different being away from him and I miss his little face and soft, kissable, cheeks already! But it's been nice to get away and be just one person for a minute, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, where was I... So now that I am in LA on this impromptu, road trip, extravaganza, job interview, fun time... Whatever you want to call it I'm going to try and implement my frugal travel skills / rules I have experience doing from my previous low budget adventures to this trip. Some of the rules I'm going to stick to are: buying food at the grocery store instead of eating every meal at a restaurant. Order water at restaurants. Carry fruit for snacks so I'm not tempted to buy convenience foods. Check out what free things we can do before heading to the things that are most advertised. Get out and walk around. There are usually more things to experience if you slow down a bit and just take in your surroundings.

Do you have any tricks or tips to save money on road trips?

Today's challenge was to get ready to clean! :) I actually did this without even knowing I was doing today's assignment. I picked up the kitchen counters, did the laundry, picked up a lot of the clutter around the house and I left for LA feeling pretty good I was leaving Brady with a house he might not go crazy in while I was away. So hopefully when I get back home everything will still be in order so I can jump right into cleaning. Luckily I have a small condo so it's fast to clean.

I really think this is a great assignment for me. When my home is cluttered or if I'm feeling stressed out at home I find it a comfort to be able to go to the store to find something to help remedy the situation. But I just need to get down to the nitty-gritty and do some major cleaning and organizing the spaces in my home. Having an organized home will make it a place where my brain can relax.

Do you find yourself spending when your stressed in your home?

Day 7: 31 Days of Living Well & Spending Zero!

One week down! I have a new view on spending and I feel like it is a great way to feel. Today Brady and I went to the store to get some essential items like milk... Brady's main "essential" were cookies :)  We did make a list of the few items we needed and it was really hard to stick to it. But we did it. Brady was trying to convince me that sometimes you don't know that you need something until you see it in the store. But I stood my ground and we only got the things on our list. Before this challenge I thought I was doing good at sticking to a list but I don't think I did it 100%. It's pretty hard. I challenge you to try it.

The scariest part of starting this challenge was telling people about it. There are probably a lot of people who think this challenge is silly or think there is a better way of learning more about managing spending habits and its scary to think people are judging me for doing this. But I am learning how to get passed possible judgments and just try to do what makes me happy. 

The thing I am most excited about participating in this challenge is probably finding out how little we can actually live without. What is the lowest amount we can live on? 

The biggest struggle for me is figuring out what to make for dinner. This is always a struggle but I had the convenience of running to the store when I finally decided on a recipe and I didn't have some of the ingredients. But with this challenge I have to find recipes that have ingredients that I already have or make substitutions. It's a way of expanding my list of recipes.  

I cheated a couple times. Day one in fact was a bad start to a no spending month but I learned from it and I think that's the biggest part about his challenge. So I didn't get discouraged about it and I moved on so I  could have the momentum to continue through the rest of the month. 

The most surprising thing about this month was seeing how much I do enjoy spending money! I like it a lot especially if I can get a good deal on something. Writing this down hit me even stronger. I kind of feel like I have been in denial about spending and thinking I was only buying things we needed. It's helped me to see I have other things that I like to do that will be a lot more beneficial to my family and myself that don't require me spending anything. Walking to the Park or finding a new park has been Jack's and my favorite morning activity. We bring our snacks and water and we get to spend a couple hours outside together playing. It's been a fun time for us both! Also, I've been finding community events more appealing. Usually they are free and they are going on all the time.  

That's pretty much all I have for week 1. Let's see what day 8 holds...