Frugal Friday- Planning for Your Financial Goals

Every year my husband and I sit down and make financial goals.  We make financial goals for the year that we are in, we set goals for 5 years down the road and 10 years in the future.  Our goal setting helps us to be on the page when it comes to our finances.  Communication is key when you share your finances with your partner.  Today I am going to tell you how my husband and I go about setting our goals.

1.)  Decide on your priorities.  The first step to setting goals is to determine which goals are your priorities.  Is it to get out of debt?  Increase your savings?  Start an emergency fund?  Our first priority is always to do something responsible with our money so that we can increase our net worth.  Last year we decided to increase our savings and become consumer debt free.  We paid off our vehicle early and built our savings account.  I can't tell you the difference it has made for us to not have a vehicle payment.  Our mortgage is now our only payment.  That is incredibly freeing.  This year we want to increase our emergency savings from 3 months expenses to 6 months expenses.

After we decide on our financial priority we figure out how to reach our goal.  We then incorporate our goal into our budget so that it becomes a 'must do' with every paycheck. 

2.)  Decide on secondary goals.  When I say secondary goals, I mean goals that will take a backseat to your main goal.  My husband and I would like to install central air in our home this year.    We are really hoping to be able to reach our goal this year, but it will only happen if our main goal stays on track.  Once again, we go through our finances so that we can determine what we need to do in order to reach our goal.

3.)  Plan for the future.  We have some big goals for the future.  The beauty of setting goals for the future is that you are free to dream big and can adjust accordingly.  We would like to take a family trip to Maui in 2021, remodel our kitchen in the next ten years, and take our children to Disney World in the next 10 years.  We dream big and then decide what it would take for us to reach those goals.  I got a quote from a local travel agent for the cost of a Maui trip.  We also got ballpark figures for our kitchen renovation.  Numbers make it much easier to decide what is plausible.

Our yearly (and then monthly) chats help my husband and I decide how to use our finances and work towards common goals.

How do you set your financial goals?  What helps you to stay on track?  I would love to hear all about it!

Instant Outfits

Dresses and my jumpsuit are the easiest things to wear in my closet.  You literally pull them and you have an instant outfit.  Add shoes and you are out the door!  I also love how they help me beat the heat.  I am not a fan of wearing shorts.  It has been hot here lately so my dresses have been in heavy rotation.  

P.S.  I found my supportive flats!  I purchased these flats last week and I LOVE them.  They are from Skechers and are super comfortable.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

No Spend April- Recap

I know that it isn't quite the end of April, but I thought that I would share with you how our no-spend month went.  I told you about our no-spend month here.   Basically, we decided not to purchase anything unless it was fruit, vegetables, dairy, eggs or pharmacy items.

The month went really well and the only person who broke it was me!  I ran out of icing sugar when trying to assemble Hubby's birthday cake so I did go buy some.  Birthdays are a big deal to me and I wanted to make him feel special.  (Plus, I made peanut butter icing.  He loves peanut butter and the icing was a hit!  I have no regrets.  Ha ha!)

I keep track of our budget and lately we have been trying to cut our spending as Hubby's work has been slow.  We easily cut our spending by 75%!  I was shocked.  I didn't realize how many unnecessary purchases I was making every week.  I thought that I might have to get creative with our meals near the end of the month, but I really won't need to.  We had that much food in our pantry and in our deep freeze.  We are so fortunate to have such an abundance of food within our reach, but this month has taught me that I need to be more mindful with our purchases.  I don't want to be wasting food.  On a financial level, throwing away food is just throwing away money.  On an ethical level, throwing away food is a disgusting misuse of something that fills one of our most basic human needs.  I could do better by using the money I would save being mindful to help others.

We had guests twice this month.  Hubby's family came for the weekend at the beginning of the month and my family came to celebrate Hubby's birthday with us.  I had more than enough food (except that darn icing sugar) to keep meals and snacks going for everyone.  I always feel like I need to go out and purchase a bunch of stuff when we are entertaining, but I really don't need to do that.

We ran out of bread halfway through the month so I baked some.  The buns and bread that I made turned out pretty good and we were good to go!  It was much cheaper to bake our own bread so I will probably give try that again.

Not perfect looking, but still delicious!

 We didn't eat at restaurants this month, which also saved us a ton of cash.  We don't eat out a lot (once every 2 weeks), but it is super expensive when we do!  Even the places that used to be "cheap" cost an arm and a leg.  Now that we are aware of how much money we can save by eating at home, we will be much more likely to avoid spending our money that way.  We plan to have the odd treat here and there, but it really is a waste of our money.
This month has taught us quite a bit about how we use our money.  I really don't need to stockpile groceries.  I truly didn't realize how much stockpiling I was actually doing.  We have enjoyed being creative with our time and finding ways to have fun without spending money.  Have you ever done a no-spend month?  I would love to hear all about it!

No Spend April

As you may recall, I completed a no-spend-year last year.  I initially began the project to help further my journey into minimalism and to force myself to have better self-care instead of turning to shopping.  My no-spend-year was (mostly) successful.  It really only took me a month to get used to the idea and from there on out I had a pretty easy time with it.

I thought that I might want to make some purchases as the new year arrived, but I really haven't done much.  I did buy myself new lounge clothes to replace the paint-splattered and torn clothes that I had been wearing.  Besides that, I haven't gone back to my 'old' shopping ways.  2017 taught me so much.

This year, one of my goals is to embrace frugality.  I knew that there would be a shift in finances with me being on maternity leave and with all the expenses that a new baby brings.  I have been slowly chipping away at ways that I can be more frugal.  I didn't expect my husband's work to be incredibly slow over the first quarter of the year.  As in, there have been weeks where he hasn't worked at all.  Yikes.  My husband has a side job that he works at when his main job is slow.  Thankfully he has been doing that so that is keeping things fairly even keel.  The problem is that none of his work has guaranteed hours so we are never completely sure of what is going to be happening in the coming months.  In March, I suggested to my husband that we try a no-spend April and (with only the slightest hesitation) he agreed.   

My no-spend year focused only on my own expenditures.  I didn't make any consumer purchases for myself during that time.  (Well, except maternity clothes, but that is a whole other story!)  My husband was free to spend as he normally did and we didn't restrict our expenditures on our children.

Our no-spend-month seems like such a small slice of time compared to my no-spend-year, so we made our no-spend rules for April very strict.  We are only allowed to buy fruit, vegetables, dairy, eggs and pharmacy items.  It also applies to everyone in our house.  We won't be dining out, buying coffee (which we only do in the city) or even purchasing meat or pantry items.  This will save us quite a bit of money and it is a simple thing to do.  I have a nice little stock of pantry items and meat in the freezer that we can use.  It will help us use up some of these items and will also force us to be a little bit creative with our meal planning.

I am looking forward to the month and I am hoping to do it more than once this year.  I think that sometimes we purchase out of habit, when we really may not need an item.  It is always good to push ourselves to be a bit creative with our finances!

Have a fabulous weekend, friends!

Spring Wardrobe- 2017

I love Spring.  Everything comes to life and the weather turns warmer.  I love the sunshine and hearing the birds chirp.  Naturally, when Spring arrives I am completely fed up with Winter.  I am ready to chuck all of my heavy winter clothes into storage, which is something that a Canadian on the prairies can never completely get away with.  

This year has been a bit strange.  I haven't perused the malls or looked online to see what is in style.  I haven't made a shopping list and I haven't daydreamed about the new Spring clothes that I want to add to my wardrobe.  I embarked on a No-Spend Year at the beginning of 2017, so there will be no shopping this season.

I have a basket that I keep my off-season clothes in.  I keep this basket in my closet so that warmer clothes are close at hand.  (We have had snow in May.  Ugh.)  I packed away all of my winter sweaters, blanket scarves and my leather leggings.  I also pulled out my lighter scarves, tops, pink jeans and a floral dress for Easter.  I am excited to wear dresses, skirts and cropped pants.

I am eager to learn how to work within my wardrobe.  I am looking forward to learning how to be content with what I have.  I am discovering how to take proper care of myself so that shopping isn't an emotional crutch.  This is an important skill to have.

I am actually surprised that I don't feel the compulsion to shop.  I am shocked that I am not lamenting my inability to add a few new items to my closet.  It feels good to be content.  

Here are a few items that I am looking forward to wearing again this season.  I have taken these photos out of my previous Capsules, so you may recognize them.

Happy Spring!

Minimizing Screen Time

I have decided to give vlogging another go.  I tried it last year when I participated in Vlogtober with Whitney from Come Home For Comfort.  I have not done any vlogging since.  I really love YouTube.  I enjoy watching certain channels and I feel that it adds a dimension that blogging can't.  I plan to talk about simple living and how to apply it to your home life.  I hope you will follow along!

This week I am talking about minimizing screen time.  I used to be a T.V. addict.  We no longer have satellite or cable in our house and I am loving it!  My evenings seem to run more smoothly and I get a lot more done.  I also have cut back on my social media time significantly and it is also saving me a lot of time.

How do you control screen time in your home?  Do you find freedom in limiting your screen time?  I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!

Inexpensive Ways to Survive Trips With Your Toddler- Day 12

I have made a lot of long trips with my toddler lately.  Some have been pleasant, some not so much.  Here are the things I have learned:

1.)  Have snacks in toddler sized containers.  I keep a small bowl in the car that I pour Miss. E's snacks in.  It helps to keep the mess down and the she seems to make the snacks last longer that way.  I pack the snacks from home so I don't have to purchase anything on the road.

2.)  Leave at a time that works for your toddler.  I had been trying to leave earlier in the day because it was easier to arrive at our destination before supper.  It made for horrible trips with my daughter.  Miss. E is a high energy kid and she doesn't actually nap at home.  She does, however, start to get tired in the afternoons.  She will also sleep in the car in the afternoon.  Unless I have to leave for an appointment or make an event, I leave after lunch.  This way, Miss. E can burn some energy off in the morning and sleep the first couple hours of the drive.  (Our drive is 6 hours long.)

3.)  Stickers.  Miss. E loves stickers.  The general consensus among the toddler moms that I know is that most kids do.  I stopped at Dollarama and picked up an inexpensive book of stickers and a notebook.  It amazes me how long she will sit and stick her stickers to the book (and herself!).

4.)  Sing songs.  Miss. E loves songs and can actually sing quite a few on her own.  We sing songs together.  The sillier the song, the better!  It is a great way to occupy time and it doesn't cost a thing.

5.)  Spotting animals out the window.  This doesn't have to be animals, necessarily.  It could be buildings or clouds or anything else that you may spot on your trip.  Miss. E is obsessed with cows, right now.  I live on the prairies, where there are many ranches.  Cows are guaranteed on our drives in the Summer and Fall!  I like to point out cows on Miss. E's side of the vehicle.  She also spends time "searching" out her window for cows.  It is always exciting when she sees one!  This game is free and Miss. E really enjoys it.

How do you survive trips with your toddler?  I would love to hear your ideas!

Day 2- Dollar Tree Haul

I headed to the Dollar Tree the other day.  I didn't know we even had Dollar Trees in Canada.  Perhaps they are new to us?  I was so excited by what I found!

I grabbed a binder and small file folder that I needed.  I bought the Hello notebook and Canada Day themed pinwheel on a whim.  I snagged some awesome flashcards for Miss. E and an adorable Elmo book.  I also found a magnetic weekly planner!  I am so excited.  I plan to use it for my weekly meal planning, just like my friend Whitney at Come Home For Comfort.  The best part of all?  I hardly spent any money!