1. Pay Down the Mortgage
We were able to squeeze one extra “principal” payment out of our budget towards paying down our mortgage in July. Had we not had all those bills from the HH’s surgery we would have been able to pay down more. But one is better than none.
2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year.
I really wanted to buy that kayak from Costco again. But then I’d want a second one so The Girl could go kayaking with me {we’ve already rented kayaks twice this summer}. Then I did the math. 2 kayaks $600 + 2 life jackets $50 so with tax my total would be around $700. Plus, I’d have to store them {awkward, and maybe an additional cost to buy a rack}.
The rental fee {if you pay cash} in the harbor is $20 a rental. That means we would need to rent kayaks 17.5 times each for the darn things to pay for themselves. Then there is the business of having to move them across the country when the times comes. Which really doesn’t make any sense at all because where we’d be moving to isn’t on the waterfront. So then I’d have to sell them {at a loss}. So see, sometimes renting is just the best way to go. Even if it does make you a little crazy inside.
3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.
Paid bills online, paid bills in full, eating fresh vegetables out of the garden, foraging for blackberries, opening windows instead of turning on the a/c, watering plants super early in the morning, running the stupid sprinklers about every third day {if even that}, batch cooking to reduce heating up the kitchen and rotating my shoes {because I need my sneakers to last me until the end of the year}. You know, simple stuff.
4. Try 52 New Recipes.
{Does trying a new recipe at someone else’s house count? If so, I totally nailed it last week.} 😉
Yada yada yada.
The Girl has decided to challenge herself to stop eating meat. For how long I’m not sure.
This shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise because one of her new year’s resolutions a few years back was to stop eating red meat. And she did. For about 1 1/2 years. She says she’s doing it for health reasons… and let me tell you Bob, this girl has the willpower of a ninja. There is actually a backstory to this… but that deserves a post all to itself. Maybe I’ll have her write it up and share her story with you.
5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.
I am totally slacking in this department right now but so far in July we have spent $96.01 on groceries.
6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband
The HH has been crazy busy at work lately but we did manage to squeeze in a coffee/tea date this week. Totally boring, but still. It counts.
So far this year we’ve gone on 20 dates and spent $329.82 out of pocket for our dates.
7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.
I’m starting to feel a little antsy about wanting to get some stuff listed {and sold} on my ebay and etsy pages but there are still a few more pieces I want to get finished for my fall listings. I like to present a “collection” when I post holiday specific items and I’m almost done. 🙂 I think I’ll start listing again in mid-late August.
In April I sold $29.99
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.
This week I boxed up more crapola for the next garage sale and started a bag for the thrift store. After making nearly $600 a the yard sale a few weeks ago you would have thought I’d be done with walking around the house scanning for items we don’t need. But nope…. the purging continues.
So far this year I have gotten rid of 937 “things.”
9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.
I’m still working my way through A Small Farm in Maine, but I did finish The Shoemaker’s Wife and Seinfeldia on Audiobook {and totally recommend both of them}.
10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year.
This week The Girl and I harvested beets, beans, a couple of onions, some raspberries and the remaining snap peas. I also worked on cleaning up the back patio {although I need to get out there and pressure wash the patio again}.
The lasagna garden I started last fall is coming along nicely {I need to do an update on my progress with that} and I also pulled a few weeds we had out front. It was an easy week!
So far this year I have harvested 25 pounds 11 ounces of fresh veggies from our backyards. I spent $19.40 at the greenhouse and about $16 on mulch.
Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 17.5 hours
11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.
Yesterday I pulled the 16 foot ladder out of the garage and climbed up to the roof to clean the skylights. It was easier than I thought it would be and I was almost tempted to find a way to secure myself to the roof and pressure wash the tiles. And then I smartened up and decided that job was better left to the professionals. 😉
12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.
Nothing new to report this week in the gift department.
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.
Amy says
It was a really good idea to add up the total cost for the kayaks vs. the rentals, Mavis! My husband and I did that for an RV this spring and discovered we could rent a cabin every year for a week for 10-14 years before it came to the price of a good used RV trailer. Needless to say we did not buy the trailer, ha ha! Normally though, I jump in and buy the article without doing the math.
Lilypad says
I stopped eating meat 11 years ago (at age 38) and haven’t looked back once. Eating a vegetarian diet (I’m actually 90% vegan but I don’t call myself “vegan” lest the vegan police arrest me for eating the occasional piece of cheese 😉 ) is healthy and delicious, not to mention it’s so cheap! And better for the planet. I’d love to see a post on The Girl’s story about how she came to this decision.
Polly says
I’m about 85% vegan compliant. I cheat on occasion.
http://Www.fatfreevegan.com has been a life saver. Her recipes are delicious and most are super easy.
Marcia says
The kayak thing is funny.
Two years ago, we were invited to spend July 4 on a friend’s boat at the harbor. Boat = Bust Out Another Thousand.
Boys were 2 and 8. Bonus is that the harbor is very near the fireworks.
8 year old swam a bit (not supposed to swim there, it is yucky). Husband took both boys out on kayaks that they had (2 year old not happy).
Husband came back jazzed about the kayak and wanted one for his birthday the following month. Thing is, we aren’t kayak people. He wanted to be kayak people. He grew up spending summers at a camp on a lake with a sailboat and swimming.
We both work full time and have 2 kids and weekends are full of chores. And our kids are little (well one of them anyway). Are we going to strap the kayak onto the top of the matrix? No.
So I bought him a 12 hours punch card for about $120-$140 (don’t remember, was 2 years ago). For kayak or SUP.
Had to remind him to use it for Thanksgiving weekend. He took our big boy out on a double kayak.
For our 20th anniversary a couple of weeks ago, we took 1/2 day off work and had a cheap date. Used our discount card for lunch, got some free wine, and rented 2 kayaks for an hour.
So, to recap. Two years, used only 3 hours of the 12 hour punch card. Renting totally the way to go.