1. Pay Down the Mortgage
We were able to knock 8 payments off our contract in April {1 regular payment and 7 extra “principal” payments} thanks to the HH earning extra last month. If all goes well and I’m finished with dental work {other than cleanings} for the year I’ll be able to move the unused money budgeted from that category towards paying down the principle. Fingers crossed!
2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year.
Fell in love with these Eskimo Boots that were on sale.
Picked up my prescription glasses {necessity} and was seriously tempted to buy a kayak. I mean like, forget all about this buying only necessities/nothing new for a year thing… Lucy and I would totally get our money’s worth out of kayak, no problem. 🙁 Why did I take on this stupid challenge anyway?
3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.
- Opened all the windows early to cool the house down so I didn’t need to turn on the A/C when it was 90 degrees earlier last week.
- Mended my favorite pair of shorts.
- The HH rotated the tires, change the oil/filter and did other maintenance stuff to the wagon instead of paying someone else to do it.
4. Try 52 New Recipes.
I came across a recipe from David Lebovitz for Cherry Poppy Seed Cake and was totally excited because I knew I had 2 bags of frozen cherries still in the freezer. But a quick trip to the spice rack dashed my hopes of trying it out this week because we are out of poppy seeds. Now I guess I’ll have to wait until I can buy groceries next week to make it. 🙁
5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.
I decided to do a no spend grocery month for April and so far so good!
6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband
This week the HH and I strolled through the farmer’s market, ran errands and popped into our favorite Mexican restaurant for lunch. It was a good day.
So far this year we’ve gone on 13 dates and spent $191.60 out of pocket for our “dates.” We are a little over budget right now {I have $520 budgeted for “dates” this year} but I’m confident things will balance out in the end.
7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.
I didn’t add any new inventory to my Etsy or Ebay “shops” this past week because I’ve been busy working on some fall/winter projects. Spring and summer is usually pretty slow in terms of selling finished rug hooking pieces so I’m just concentrating on hooking new pieces right now and tucking them away.
In March I sold $799.53
In February I sold $1077.27
In January I sold $1563.92
8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things.
Another week of decluttering success! I’m almost done. 🙂
9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
This week I read through The Winter Vegetarian: A Warm and Versatile Bounty in search of some recipes for an upcoming project I’ll be taking on in May. I’ll tell you more about the project next week as I am still piecing it together.
10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year.
This week I spent about an hour working on my vegetable garden. I planted out kale and swiss chard, harvested radishes and thinning the carrots and beets. It’s still too early to plant things like beans and squash so these days it seems more like I am working on general landscape issues {pulling weeds, tidying up flower beds} than planting veggies. All that is going to change though in a few weeks. 🙂 Read about my latest gardening adventures over on Dig for Your Dinner.
So far this year I have harvested 6 pound 8 ounces of fresh veggies from our backyard.
Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 7 hours 30 minutes.
11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.
This week I tackled the garage. And guess what? It’s totally finished. The shelves have been organized, the junk has been donated or packed away for the neighborhood yard sale and let me tell you Bob, it feels good!
12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.
I traded my friend Zoë a cake stand for a set of 2 custom pot holders and plan on adding them into my parents gift basket this Christmas.
How about YOU? How are you doing on your goals this year?
~Mavis
Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.
Tracey says
Get a kayak it’s so worth it. It can be considered a health/fitness/medical item.
Lisa Millar says
I am going to second Tracey’s advice! 🙂 We got two earlier in the summer season and they are AWESOME. Have had so much fun out of them so far. 😀
Earlene says
One idea for gifts would be to make pie filling for gifts. So easy and yummy!
DebbieB says
I love those boots! I have several pairs of Jambu sandals and this past winter I bought a pair of Jambu boots. If you have never owned this brand before they are just so comfortable and cute too. A little tip – they do run a bit small so I order a half size larger and they fit perfectly. Amazon sells some Jambu styles too!
cassy says
I’m curious about the time you spend on your beautiful garden. Does that time include planning or do you even do that anymore since you’re so experienced? In the next couple of years hubby and I will finally get our own place and I can tear up the back yard like a fiend! Yay! However, I’ll also have 2 toddlers so time is of the essence.
Just curious if your time includes planning and if not, how much longer you think that would add onto it for someone who has had childhood gardens and understands a lot, but has never actually done it all herself?
Thanks!