31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – easy ways to save

October 15, 2013January 15, 2014 Rachel Atwell4 Comments

I love good deal and very rarely do I pay full price for something. So when we had finished our monthly budget and took a step back, I knew there could be ways to save, we just had to look a little bit harder.

One of the first and ~~easiest~~ quickest ways to reduce our spending was canceling our cable. It was hard for me to let go of HGTV and TLC and for Gary to say goodbye during college football season, but so far I’ve hardly missed it. We have a subscription to Netflix {which runs about $8/month} and that allows us to watch past seasons of things we like and the shows that are currently on tv, we usually just watch online the next day. So don’t go spoiling any shows for us! 🙂 Savings – $60/month.

The next way we save money is by eating dinners at home during the week. It’s crazy to think how much we are probably saving by doing this, since usually a meal cost anywhere between $15-$50 for the two of us. Another added benefit of eating at home is the time we save since Gary often works later in the evenings. When we do go out to eat {usually once on the weekend}, its always a treat. Savings – about $60-200 month.

So those are two simple ways to save a little over $100/month without even trying hard. And every penny counts, right?

What are some ways you save each month?

101 in 1001

October 15, 2013January 15, 2014 Rachel Atwell12 Comments

Yesterday I turned 27! Twenty-seven!

These last few months leading up to my birthday, I’ve been creating a list of things I want to do over the next several years… a 101 in 1001 list. This list is 101 things that I want to complete in 1001 days. It’s a fun way to challenge myself to learn, explore, and live.

It’s crazy to think that when these 1001 days are over, that I’ll be three months and two days shy of the big 3-0! So to not waste any time, here we go…

The Mission: Complete 100 preset tasks/goals/challenges in a period of 1001 days.
Why 1001? 1001 days allows you different seasons to complete tasks, which is better for organizing and timing things like trips or outdoor activities.
Start Date: Tuesday, October 15, 2013
End Date: Tuesday, July 12, 2016

To see where I am with my progress and completed goals, visit my 101 in 1001 page!

Faith
1. become members of a church in our new home
2. do weekly devotionals with G
3. help with four service projects
4. invite a friend to church
5. join a small group at our church
6. read through the Bible
7. read through gospels 3 times
8. serve in our church
9. serve on a mission trip

Husband and Wife
10. celebrate month-a-versaries
11. celebrate anniversaries
12. continue weekly questions
13. find 3 specific ways to serve Gary
14. make a video of our honeymoon adventures
15. plan once a week dates
16. take a photo on each anniversary
17. take a photo on our couch at each home
18. workout together once a week

Family
19. call/skype family more often
20. host a family dinner
21. host a nephew/niece slumber party
22. send family birthday cards/presents one week before birthday
23. send packages to each family members family
24. write to nephews and nieces once a month

Money
25. complete Dave Ramsey Baby Steps 1-3
26. discuss spending habits once a month
27. find ways to reduce unnecessary spending
28. invest in five quality pieces – clothing or home
29. make necessary adjustments to budget each month
30. pay off debt by 2015
31. use “envelopes” for all purchases/ stick to budget

Home Organization
32. begin recipe index
33. clean computer files once a season
34. complete an organized move
35. decorate for Christmas
36. distribute unused wedding items
37. finish paint projects before next move
38. hang pictures in our home
39. have an online or yard sale before we move
40. make/purchase a headboard for master bedroom
41. organize important documents in notebook
42. print a wedding canvas for our bedroom
43. purge clothes every season
44. record a “house tour” at each place we live
45. sort/back up pictures

Healthy Living
46. drink water minimum for 30 days
47. eat clean for one month
48. exercise for at least 20 minutes a day
49. keep a habit of making weeknight dinners
50. plan meals every week
51. run 6 miles
52. run 10 miles
53. run 13 miles
54. try a 3 day juice cleanse
55. walk 3 miles a day for one month
56. work out every day for one month for at least 45min a day

Adventures
57. go indoor/outdoor rock climbing
58. go kayaking
59. go skydiving
60. go to a Braves game
61. go to a broadway play
62. go to a college basketball game
63. go to a college football game
64. go to a concert
65. go to a drive-in movie
66. go whitewater rafting
67. pick apples
68. pick strawberries
69. visit a pumpkin patch or corn maze
70. take a beach trip
71. take a camping trip
72. take a mountain trip
73. take a NYC trip
74. take a trip to a foreign country
75. take a skiing/snowboarding trip

Creativity and Work
76. create five items to sell on etsy
77. create new business/calling cards
78. create photo books for Haiti trips
79. make a three free printables for the blog
80. move to a self hosted blog
81. open an etsy shop
82. purchase a new camera
83. start and finish a wedding album
84. update resume and linkedin profile

Challenges and Learning
85. complete #31days of writing each year
86. complete a weeklong social media fast
87. decide on “go to meals” for breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizer, dessert
88. make homemade bread
89. read one book a month
90. take a cake decorating class
91. take a calligraphy class
92. take a cooking class
93. take a floral arranging class
94. take a photography class
95. take a sewing class
96. try 10 pinterest ideas
97. work on monthly goal sheets

Social
98. host a dinner for friends
99. host a party
100. send cards/letters to friends
101. send Christmas cards (with new address included)

31 days

31 days – fall 2013 – a helpful tool

October 14, 2013January 15, 2014 Rachel Atwell2 Comments

Once we had our budget established, we wanted to do our best to stay on track. We had read about Dave Ramsey’s envelope system and liked the idea, but weren’t quite ready to go full force with it.

Instead we decided to go with a similar idea, but not as much cash is involved: Budget Envelopes App by Mobile Innovations LLC. It’s a free app, but is limited to only about 25 transactions and then if decide to continue to use it, you upgrade to the full package {I think it was about $2.99}.

I found the app easy to use. You set up your “envelopes” {we just pulled categories and totals from our budget sheet} and whenever you have a transaction, you enter it into the specific category. Below you can see how the different categories are laid out {all screenshots are from the app website}.

It also gives you the option to export reports, pie graphs, and other items to help with documenting.

So far it has been really good for us to use this system because not only do we have our budget on us at all times, but we also get to learn about each others spending habits and it helps us talk about our spending more – something I have found important to do as a newlywed.

What things do you use to help stick to a budget?