1. Pay Down the Mortgage
We were able to knock 3 payments off our contract this month {1 regular payment and 2 “principal” payments}. I am setting aside my “rug hooking money” to go towards paying extra on our February payment.
2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year.
I was seriously debating about whether or not I should buy a Sun Therapy Lamp. That, or going on meds, or buying a one way ticket to somewhere with LOT’s and LOT’s of sunshine. I don’t even care if it’s warm {I love the snow} but I can’t stand the rain anymore.
3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.
Some of the big and small things I did this past week that saved us money:
- I gave the HH a trim. I bought a set of Wahl Clippers 20 years ago and they are still going strong. Why pay for salon haircuts when you can do it at home.
- I saved the seeds from the butternut squash we ate and will use them in my garden this year instead of buying them.
- Paid 3 bills online and save $1.47 {No stamps!}
- My neighbors pruned a tree and I saved the smaller branches to use in homemade firestarters and the primitive flowers I sell on Etsy and Ebay. I’ll use the larger branches to build a garden trellis later this spring.
4. Try 52 New Recipes.
I tried a new quiche recipe this past week. Stay tuned for the recipe. 🙂
5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.
I ended up spending $105.36 on groceries in January. And I’m pretty happy with that. I’m going to try and keep my grocery budget under $94 in February to get back on track.
6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband
The HH and I had originally planned to go to lunch and a movie but as I was tidying up the house before we left the idea of bowling popped in my head. The last time the HH and I went bowling was about 10 years ago with the kids in Ireland.
Neither of us are great bowlers but we had a blast. We also popped into Costco on the way home to pick up some eggs and stopped at the food court for a bite to eat. {The HH got a weenie, soda and a churro and I had a churro too}. Bowling $21.74, Costco Food Court $3.80. Talk about a cheap date. 😉
So far this year we’ve gone on 3 dates and spent $25.54 out of pocket for our “dates.”
7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.
I had a crazy good week turning my hobby into cash. I sold 6 hooked rugs and 1 set of flowers. 5 items on Ebay and 2 on Etsy for a total of $474.69 {before fees and supplies were factored in}.
So far in January I’ve sold $1563.92 {wowza!}
I was going to do a tally at the end of each month to see how much profit I actually made, but I think I’m going to wait until the end of the year to add up the cost of supplies, fees, shipping, and other misc costs to make it easier on myself. I do know that ebay/etsy fees and paypal fees eat up about 12-15% of the cost to sell an item and I’d estimate another 10-13% is the actual cost of supplies {so about 25% all together}. Even with about 75% of the price of an item accounting for my time, I bet it still doesn’t work out to be minimum wage.
I have no desire to “log my time” simply because I pick up my rug hook at such random times {in a waiting room, on an airplane, while I’m watching a movie/listening to an audiobook} and I just don’t need another thing to keep track of. I like what I do, it’s a joy, and I feel like my items are priced accordingly.
8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things.
This week I set aside 61 DVD’s for my yard sale.
9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
This week I’m reading Grow All You Can Eat in Three Square Feet so I can learn how to maximize the space in in my raised garden beds.
10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year.
So far this year I have harvested 2 pound 10 ounces of red potatoes, 9 ounces of beets, and 5 ounces of carrots. You can read about my latest garden harvest HERE.
Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 45 Minutes
11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.
This week I put a second coat of paint on the trim work in parts of the hallway and office.
12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.
This week I made 2 more batches of firestarters. 🙂
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.
Anita Burns says
i’m amazed at your grocery spending amount. I live with my husband and brother. We spend $400 a month in grocery and household supplies. I make most things from scratch. I make my own household cleaners, garden many of my own veggies, can, freeze, dry, pickle, and more. I use up scraps when I can, compost, and shop in big box stores, dollar stores, and 99cent stores when I can.
Maybe because I live in Southern California? Maybe food, like everything else, is more expensive here? I love your tips but much of the items you feature on your site, our family simply won’t eat–processed, boxed, and most canned goods, for example. We try to have zero tolerance to additives, preservatives, artificial coloring, flavoring, texturizes, etc.
As Yul Brenner said so many times in The King and I, “Is a puzzlement.”
Love your blog. I look forward to reading it every time.
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
Mavis, Been following your hooking experiences with great interest. Currently building stock to sell my Norwegian style knitting before opening an on-line store. Would you talk about your experiences in selling both on Etsy and Ebay? [ex: do you charge tax above the sale price or is it part of the price, how do you figure shipping/handling costs?] Find it intriguing that Ebay sells significantly more than Etsy. Any ideas why?
Mavis Butterfield says
Great talking points. I think I’ll do a post about this Elizabeth! My friend Zoe and I were talking about this stuff last week. Thanks
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
thank you
Andrea says
I’ve fallen down on goals lately. I’ve been very sick lately and didn’t have a lot of energy. My main goal is to declutter the house but getting rid of things seems to be harder than I expected. It seems every time I get rid of something someone decides to give me their castoffs.
UpstateNYer says
Spend just 15 minutes a day too rid yourself of the clutter. You will be surprised how the time adds up to work completed.
Make sure the pile goes directly into your car for donating.
You can do it!
PattyB says
Mavis, I’d like to know the answer to that as well. I’m always worried about setting too high a purchase price but I don’t want to sell my self short. Thanks!
Linda says
Yay, Mavis! I would be happy with your January grocery total! My husband and I are also paying our mortgage off early. We make an extra principal payment each month and plan to be mortgage free in 23 months!
Dee says
For the items you sell, how are you tracking/accounting for sales tax and income tax for those things? I used to have an etsy store but grew weary of messing with that portion.
Karin C says
Good Morning Mavis and Lucy. In regards to the Sun Lamp, just head to Home Depot and get a ” Broad Spectrum Bright White” energy bulb, the curly cue ones, I have SAD and did a bit if research s d found that these bulbs work great, I replaced them in out living room and my bedside lamp first and notice a big change and have done the rest in our home, they cost nothing more then regular energy saver bulbs but are about a gazillion times cheaper then the SAD lights that you have to sit in front of.
Heather says
Karin – Thanks for your post/reply. I was just going to comment that maybe I need to look for the SAD light. Instead I think I will go check out Home Depot. I usually could say to come to Northern Nevada for the sun (even if it isn’t that warm), but this year we are getting a lot of snow or gray days. I want some sun!
Isabella says
Oh, I totally hear you about the rain! We lived in northern California for 8 years, which definitely has the Pacific Northwest climate. For us there, it meant 6 months of perfect weather and 6 months of rain. And that rain would just chill to the bone! Now, we are back in Minneapolis where it snows in the winter, but I love it! And when it is not snowing, the days are bright, dry, cold and sunny, which is really most of the winter. Back to four seasons here, and I am happy! Good work on the goals. Boy, I know I can do better on my grocery shopping!
UpstateNYer says
Suggestion: It is wonderful you are getting rid of the DVD clutter. Whatever doesn’t sell, try donating to your local library system. Many of them allow you to take out DVD’s of all types for a week at a time FREE !
Mavis Butterfield says
I think I am going to donate all the dvd’s that don’t sell to the library. 🙂
Deborah from FL says
Perhaps you might consider donating the kids videos to a pediatric hospital? When my son was 7 he was hospitalized, this proved to help pass the time and distract him from his pain. But they totally relied on donations. Just a thought.
michelle says
I agree. Pedriatric Dept. at hospital!!
Deborah from FL says
The gardening book you mentioned looks interesting. I am curious though, how it compares to the Square Foot Gardening practices out there. I’d like to know if you find this book has enough new or different stuff in it. It looks really good though. 🙂
Tracy says
Mavis, have you ever considered getting a job outside the home? Now that your kids are older, maybe a part time job. You seem to have so much energy, are very motivated, super smart and resourceful, and perhaps some non-family human interaction would be especially helpful during those frustrating winter months. When you’re spending time tracing the minutes you spend gardening every day…maybe you could use that time to grow your income rather than just reduce your spending? Analysis only goes so far in bringing joy, you know?
Mavis Butterfield says
No. I have never considered getting a job outside of the home. This blog, is a full time job. 🙂
Jo says
A Phillips sun lamp is very worth the cost. When I moved from a 340 sunny days a year location to a cloudy winter location it was a life saver. I found I had more beefy and could get going much faster in the morning. Highly recommended.
Helen in idaho says
Oh, No, don’t sell UP, or Toy Story or Elf. You can get a light in Costco near the pharmacy for Seasonal Affectiveness Disease. Maybe your dr. can prescribe it so you have insurance toward it. It may only be 28 of here in Idaho, but unless it is snowing, or rarely raining it is a sunny 28. Heaven here.