My kitchen is still not finished as far as organization goes, and I've started a new organization project in the mean time. And oh wait, did I mention I still haven't installed shelves in my son's closet? Because that needs to get done too!
Regardless of the status of other projects, let me share with you this new one! I bought a few packages of the Atlantic DVD Sleeves. They are a little on the pricey side but buying the 36 sleeves with the case at $20.99 was more price effective than buying the 25 sleeves at $14.99. So in the long run I will be saving money. I'm starting off with three packages. My goal is to get my dvd's and blurays and video games-- all organized! I haven't figured out what the solution will be for season's of shows, but when I do, I will let you know! :)
We have been trying earnestly to stay in our budget, which is complicated. After we get all those DVD's reorganized, the goal is to buy some sort of storage/console type cabinet to go behind the couch to better utilize our space and create some less obvious storage places. One thing at a time, right? Or maybe three or four in my case!
Happy Organizing!
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label budget. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Friday, October 11, 2013
Fall Centerpiece
I originally envisioned something different. I pictured a long but narrow basket with some sort of fall leaves on the bottom with pumpkin and candles on top. But I couldn't find a basket that I liked so I decided to do something different, and I am really glad and pleased with what I did!
My mom happened to help me run all my centerpiece errands, and she took me to a pumpkin patch so we could get the perfect pumpkins and gourds.
We got this mini garland from Pier 1 with a 20% off coupon :) I also got the candles there (not picture separately) and the sales clerk used the 20% off coupon on the $10.00 unscented candle. It may have been cheaper elsewhere, but my excitement overruled my sense of financial judgment.
This charger was $1.99 from Michael's. The flash made it look worse than it is, but it doesn't really matter since you hardly see it anyway.
And the final product! So proud!
Overhead view of my centerpiece!
I am so happy with how it turned out. I've never attempted something like this before and a lot of googling and pinteresting took place to get the creative juices flowing. :)
Happy Fall!
My mom happened to help me run all my centerpiece errands, and she took me to a pumpkin patch so we could get the perfect pumpkins and gourds.
We got this mini garland from Pier 1 with a 20% off coupon :) I also got the candles there (not picture separately) and the sales clerk used the 20% off coupon on the $10.00 unscented candle. It may have been cheaper elsewhere, but my excitement overruled my sense of financial judgment.
This charger was $1.99 from Michael's. The flash made it look worse than it is, but it doesn't really matter since you hardly see it anyway.
And the final product! So proud!
Overhead view of my centerpiece!
I am so happy with how it turned out. I've never attempted something like this before and a lot of googling and pinteresting took place to get the creative juices flowing. :)
Happy Fall!
Friday, October 4, 2013
Christmas Shopping Shout Out
I cannot believe it, but I have already purchased my first Christmas gift of the year! It, of course, was for my mom. She's difficult to shop for so when I saw something that I thought she'd like, it made sense to purchase it without hesitation. Now, if only I could do that for all my family members!
My husband and I plan to buy gifts for both sides of our family and for Micah. With extended family (which is usually just my side), we [I] love to make cookies for everyone. I cannot wait to share pictures with you when that event happens, but for now, here's a view of 2011's:
Apparently, I did not take a picture of the final product for 2012 so here's some cookie pictures from last year!
Is it too early to be talking about Christmas? I am just super excited! Back to focusing on Halloween, I guess!
My husband and I plan to buy gifts for both sides of our family and for Micah. With extended family (which is usually just my side), we [I] love to make cookies for everyone. I cannot wait to share pictures with you when that event happens, but for now, here's a view of 2011's:
Apparently, I did not take a picture of the final product for 2012 so here's some cookie pictures from last year!
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Spending tips
I am not a professional accountant, and I do not claim to know the best way to budget. But I do know I like to spend money, and I only have a finite amount of it to spend, so here are a few tips that we use to help determine on what/how to spend our extra income. Obviously, don't take grocery money and go out to eat or spend it on the movies.
1. Eating out is expensive- try to cook all your meals at home.
It may seem like everyone says that, but it is definitely true. This past weekend my husband and I ate out twice! We went to brunch with friends, and we ate lunch out at an order at the counter kind of place. After all was said and done we spent about $50.00 on two meals. Probably not worth it.
2. Look up a coupon online before you purchase, especially free shipping if buying online!
At this point, I will 9/10 times not buy something online unless I can get free shipping. There are those rare occasions, that I just can't happen to find the product in a store or anywhere else online, and I bite the bullet and pay, but I can only think of one example in the past six months of that happening. On top of that, find a coupon for a percentage off! If it's clothing that you don't absolutely NEED, wait until you get that coupon! You'll get more for your money! Again, I never buy clothes for myself that aren't on sale unless I absolutely need it for something. Even then, I am not happy about it!
3. Buy quality items!
I bought a Camelbak water bottle a while back, and after using it for about a year, the a hing broke on my straw. I was really sad, but I wrote their customer service department, and I received a lid and straw for my waterbottle at not cost to me! Totally worth the investment! Sometimes you don't find quality items with awesome warranties, but buying that quality item, means it's going to last you a very long time! So the extra money upfront saves you the heartache of it breaking a few months down the line.
4. Skip the cable.
Now my husband still misses sports, it's true. But I know if we had cable, we'd both be spending a lot more time in front of the TV than we do reading or investing in other worthwhile activities like being active! Instead we pay 7.99 a month for Netflix, and we also have Amazon Prime (primarily for free two day shipping and the kindle lending library), which also offers TV shows.
5. Projects!
I am all about my projects. So that's how I decide what to spend all that extra income on, after I've found all my coupons ;) For instance, I really want new bedroom decor, but that's not my current project so until I am done improving the organization in my kitchen, everything else will wait. This helps me stay focused on actually completing a project, and I don't get sidetracked! My goal has been to buy one thing to help me complete that project every pay check. This week I bought a garlic keeper and pan organizer thing. But more on those later!
6. Spend on yourself.
My husband and I need to be able to invest in ourselves and the different things we like, so we allocate a portion of our budget to each other. We get an equal amount of money, and we are allowed to spend that money on WHATEVER we want. No judgment, and it's completely fair. I am a money saver, and my husband is more of a spender, so when we didn't have that money set aside, mine would get spent on house items, and he'd end up buying a great deal of things that I didn't think we should be spending "our" money on. Now it's his money, and I have my own money that I can keep nested away and saved for that big ticket item I want or whatever! But the main point is that we know it's important to have that money for ourselves and for our hobbies, so we've worked it into our budget. And it doesn't take away from our family's money for things like groceries! ;)
I am sure marriage and having a family will keep teaching me better ways to assess and improve our spending habits, but I am proud of what we've developed so far. I hope these tips help and give some amount of inspiration.
1. Eating out is expensive- try to cook all your meals at home.
It may seem like everyone says that, but it is definitely true. This past weekend my husband and I ate out twice! We went to brunch with friends, and we ate lunch out at an order at the counter kind of place. After all was said and done we spent about $50.00 on two meals. Probably not worth it.
2. Look up a coupon online before you purchase, especially free shipping if buying online!
At this point, I will 9/10 times not buy something online unless I can get free shipping. There are those rare occasions, that I just can't happen to find the product in a store or anywhere else online, and I bite the bullet and pay, but I can only think of one example in the past six months of that happening. On top of that, find a coupon for a percentage off! If it's clothing that you don't absolutely NEED, wait until you get that coupon! You'll get more for your money! Again, I never buy clothes for myself that aren't on sale unless I absolutely need it for something. Even then, I am not happy about it!
3. Buy quality items!
I bought a Camelbak water bottle a while back, and after using it for about a year, the a hing broke on my straw. I was really sad, but I wrote their customer service department, and I received a lid and straw for my waterbottle at not cost to me! Totally worth the investment! Sometimes you don't find quality items with awesome warranties, but buying that quality item, means it's going to last you a very long time! So the extra money upfront saves you the heartache of it breaking a few months down the line.
4. Skip the cable.
Now my husband still misses sports, it's true. But I know if we had cable, we'd both be spending a lot more time in front of the TV than we do reading or investing in other worthwhile activities like being active! Instead we pay 7.99 a month for Netflix, and we also have Amazon Prime (primarily for free two day shipping and the kindle lending library), which also offers TV shows.
5. Projects!
I am all about my projects. So that's how I decide what to spend all that extra income on, after I've found all my coupons ;) For instance, I really want new bedroom decor, but that's not my current project so until I am done improving the organization in my kitchen, everything else will wait. This helps me stay focused on actually completing a project, and I don't get sidetracked! My goal has been to buy one thing to help me complete that project every pay check. This week I bought a garlic keeper and pan organizer thing. But more on those later!
6. Spend on yourself.
My husband and I need to be able to invest in ourselves and the different things we like, so we allocate a portion of our budget to each other. We get an equal amount of money, and we are allowed to spend that money on WHATEVER we want. No judgment, and it's completely fair. I am a money saver, and my husband is more of a spender, so when we didn't have that money set aside, mine would get spent on house items, and he'd end up buying a great deal of things that I didn't think we should be spending "our" money on. Now it's his money, and I have my own money that I can keep nested away and saved for that big ticket item I want or whatever! But the main point is that we know it's important to have that money for ourselves and for our hobbies, so we've worked it into our budget. And it doesn't take away from our family's money for things like groceries! ;)
I am sure marriage and having a family will keep teaching me better ways to assess and improve our spending habits, but I am proud of what we've developed so far. I hope these tips help and give some amount of inspiration.
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