Lately, I've been thinking of ways to bring my spendage down monthly.
I read an inspiring article from a family of four living off of $14,000 a year by purely budgeting, thrifting, and making as much homemade things as possible. This amazing individual is a stay at home mom who made a way for her family to live as comfortably as possible while her hubby goes to school and they receive nothing for income except $14,000/ year from the GI bill. Through living a thrifty life, they paid off their cars and paid cash for the home they bought. Pretty awesome, if you ask me. Her blog is www.blissfulanddomestic.com. Check it out!
Overall, I guess I found this to be such good reads because it ties in with my New Years resolution I set for myself this year. I vowed to live with less and find peace and happiness with simplicity. Money doesn't have to make the world go round- being creative, prep and research makes that possible.
Since the move, we've put our things away and started to fall into the everyday 'routine'.
Little changes I've made as follows:
*Hanging out clothes instead of using the dryer
*Scored a breadmaker (I named her "Wilma") @ Goodwill to make homemade bread
*Eating out less and making more food from scratch
*Map out my errands to save on gas
*Going to my favorite discount theatre as oppose to full price ones
*Set monthly budget goals as well as vacation goals
*Dived into couponing again to save on grocery budget
*Try to pay with cash to be more aware of what is spent
*Discovering that there isn't any shame in thrifting things needed as oppose to buying brand new
I can't say I'm a pro at it but I can say I'm trying to make changes to live a little more comfortably. Soon, I won't have the income I have now so sacrifices need to be made. I won't be poor but I feel that, if anything, this way of life will make my life much more enriched. Since I've been trying to see things in a different light, so to say, I've started to notice the beauty in enjoying the walks in the day with the dogs, the visits to the library or the local book store to catch up on good reads, a swim at the community pool, batting/fishing at the park or time at the local coffee shop to catch up on emails. There is so much more to do besides spending money everyday.
Did I mention one of my best friends came to visit this week from Indiana?! We had a great time! We did an arrayment of things while he was here and we still managed to keep within my goals.
Although I worked Mon-Weds, we still had a jam packed week.
Tuesday night, we 'visited' Jack Reacher at the local discount movies for $2 Tuesday.
Wednesday, I worked from 3am-6:30pm and Jordon caught up with other friends.
Thursday, we kicked off the morning by making homemade pancakes with blueberry syrup from scratch.
Afterward, we ended up bowling at the AMF in Tempe. With my discount card and instant text discounts... We played 5 games including shoe rentals for $10! I hadn't been bowling in what seemed like forever! It was so much fun. Jordon smoked me but I did learn a new bowling technique from him. Buy one, get one free Blizzards at Dairy Queen and making homemade wheat bread with crockpot broccoli cheddar soup passed time until dinner.
Martin, Jordon and I ate at a revolving sushi bar. The sushi spot was truly unique... Offering a variety of sushi, rolls and other treats ranging from $1-$2 a plate weather one sat at a booth or bar style- end of the day... I was stuffed for $7.
Friday, I woke Jordon up with the aroma of homemade Cinnamon Raisin French Toast. Afterward, I packed up supplies for sandwiches with a thermos of our broccoli cheddar soup and fresh wheat bread for a lunch. We headed off East toward Apache Junction to hike Silly Mountain. We took the easy trail that showed an amazing view of the city and the Superstition Mountains not to mention the blooming wildflowers (always a rare occassion for Arizona).
Jordon wanted to visit my mom so we stopped by and we all visited and ate the lunch I packed together. On the way to the freeway, we drove past his old house he lived in during middle and high school. He was saddened by the weeds and poor up keeping of the yard but smiled when he noticed a surviving orange tree he and his father planted when they lived there. The changes our old high school (Apache Junction High School) made memories flood back in our conversations on the way back to the house. Burnt and exhausted, we took a nap upon returning to prepare for a long night out. Once awake, we munched on some In & Out Burger where I learned about the unadvertised 'animal style' option. Jordon told me about this option way they prepare to burgers with the works- extra sauce and loaded veggies on the burgers at no additional cost! I got all decked out in white leggings and a black shirt that outlined my figure with hair down in a head band. We were off to Amsterdam, a gay club in downtown Phoenix, where we met up with several of his buddies.
The club was very nice and clean. It was like 2 clubs in one with two rooms that offered completely different vibes. One was pop-like with dark lighting and the other one was hip hop with neon lights and a white environment.
The second one was busier than the first. The club had beautiful patios also with secondary bars. I served as the designated driver so I didn't get see the drink pricing but there was no cover.
I danced and had a lot of fun.
I'm such a people watcher and the variety of fashion, people and personalities kept the night alive. We closed down the bar- leaving at 2:30am and getting home about 3:00am. Boy was still awake playing Xbox and drinking some brews. Bed was calling us all by that time.
Saturday, Jordon played basketball with some of his friends that left me time to sleep in and make my favorite egg scramble (including sautéed mushrooms, onions, cheddar cheese and red and green bell pepper) with a side of fried sausage for breakfast with my babes. Once Jordon returned, we all got ready for the day and went to see Zero Dark Thirty at my favorite little discount theatre. This time, we stopped at CVS and got snacks to bring in since it was going to be such a long movie. The movie was good and better than I expected. It basically followed a CIA agent through her story as she brought down Osama bin Laden. An advertisement showed us if we brought our stubs in, we got a free scoop of Thrifty ice cream with the purchase of a cupcake or cake pop. Thrifty ice cream has a soft spot in my heart because my brother and I used to gather our saved change and walk to a Thrifty Drug Store down the street from my childhood home in Ontario, CA to splurge on scoop from their in-house ice cream parlor. Naturally, we went! We got a red velvet cupcake that proved to be amazinggggg and a scoop of pecan praline ice cream that I thoroughly enjoyed. Once we got home, we ordered the UFC fight and Jordon treated us to Little Caesars Pizza for dinner. My stomach was a knots after that! During the fight, I put a corned beef brisket in the crockpot with potatoes and cabbage and let that baby simmer. With the left over cabbage, I made some cabbage soup. I also baked some Irish Soda Bread. It took all night to cook and finally finish cooking at 4:45am the next morning. While the stuff was cooking, we chatted about his conflicting thoughts about staying in Indiana, planned a possible New York vacation, and watched a movie on Netflix until we feel asleep. It was nice talking to him about randomness. It was nice to have a friend here to catch up with.
Sunday (today), we woke up about 11:30am and I made biscuits and gravy from scratch for breakfast. We vegged, watched movies and tennis matches on tv until Jordon had to go. He left at 4p to the airport. Everyone busted into the delish corned beef and cabbage for dinner.
Of course, I made homemade Irish Soda Bread too!
It was nice to feel a sense of family during this St. Patrick's Day. Memories flooded my mind of past years on this day while watching the news airing stories on various traditions and the different meanings behind the holiday. To be honest, I wouldn't change a thing. Today was a good day.
That's all for now :)
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