One way to decrease spending

In January, I went through a time of wanting to buy things. This happens to me periodically ;). I had read about the "30 day want list". The idea is to list items that you want, and then look at the list in 30 days. If you still want the item after 30 days, and have budgeted for it, then consider buying it.
Here is my list from January:
Jan. 17
blinds for dining room

paint for kitchen

new towels

jeans
scrubee thing from Flylady

What was the result of my experiment? Well, I didn't buy any of the listed items, so I guess I certainly didn't need them. I don't think my quality of life has suffered at all.

Did I save money? Maybe. If I had purchased all of the items, I would have spent over $150.

1. Instead of the blinds for the dining room, I saved the budgeted household money until March when I spent $60 on a mirror for over the dining room mantle. I didn't use the 30 day list in March!
2. I still need to repaint the kitchen, but this will not be on my list until next year.
3. My mother gave my some towels that she no longer uses.
4. I still need jeans, but these can still wait until September.
5. I really don't need the "rubba scrubba".

Final analysis: It seems that for some items, I merely postponed spending, because I will eventually have to purchase them--paint, jeans. This is useful information. I can compare the advantage of postponing spending to the advantage of having the item now.

I think this strategy is useful for me to remember when I am tempted to spend on wants, especially when I am debt-free and have more discretionary spending money. In order to instill this habit by October, I'm going to start now. I'll let you know how it goes.

Goals Update

I have been very lax in updating my goals since the computer problems in February. I guess I got off my schedule. Even though I haven't written about my goals, I have been making progress on the goals as a group, but I need to focus on the details. Here goes:

Financial goals

Track spending with YNAB weekly. I'm still enjoying using YNAB to track spending. I got a little off track when my computer was cleaned, but I was able to use my bank statements to reconstruct Jan. and Feb.
Begin sinking fund account. Keep in checking account. This is working well. I've started small funds for taxes, car repairs, life insurance, and house projects. I'll be able to modify the amounts needed because of tracking what I actually spend.
Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1 . Not doing so well with this one. In order to achieve this goal, I need to pay $800/month to credit cards. February was good, but March was only $600 and April will only be $400 because of car repair. I will have to modify this goal to September 1.
Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31. This goal will also be modified, probably to $2600.



Personal goals

Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. February and the 1st 2 weeks of March were successful, but the past 2 weeks have been exerciseless.
Walk Gretsky every day . Not everyday anymore. I need to renew my commitment to this.
Do Flylady routines. Nope
Bible study. Yes! I started attending a Bible study group in February. I also have been learning from Beth Moore online.
Learn something new. Yes! I may be going overboard a little here, but it's fun!
Compost bin/garden. I'm stuck on making a new compost container because I can't find my drill! Organization is lacking!
Monthly house project Nope

Wow! I thought I was making adequate progress, but 6 out of 11 goals are in the red. It's time for me to refocus.

January Week 1 Update

Time for a weekly progress report on my goals. I think weekly checks will help keep me on track.

Financial:
Track spending with YNAB weekly. I'm really enjoying keeping track of my spending with YNAB. I enter my spending amounts and YNAB automatically updates my budget, so I can see at a glance how I'm doing. If I overspend in one category, like the house repairs, then I am reducing another category, like CC payment :(
Begin sinking fund account--transfer to ING by March . $50 in it so far.
Pay off $6000 in credit cards by July 1 Already behind on my goal of $900/month because of plumbing repairs.
Save emergency fund of $3600 by Dec 31 At $890.

Personal
Work out or walk (1 mile) 2x week. Yes!
Walk Gretsky every day. Yes!
Do Flylady routines. About 60%.
Bible study. Not yet
Learn something new. Not yet
Compost bin/garden Not yet
Monthly house project. Getting the kitchen and bathroom sink repaired was costly, so this month's project will be recovering 2 dining room chairs (today!), because I already have the materials.

I just remembered that I need to send in for reimbursements from my medical savings account. Maybe I can meet (or at least get closer) to my goal of $900 CC payments!

For next week: Focus on Flylady routines. Life is fun!

2009 Goals

My SMART goals for 2009:

Financial:

1. Pay off credit cards ($6000) by July1. Plan: pay $900/ month x 6 + $600 from Job 2.


2. Have an emergency fund with two months living expenses by Dec. 31, 2009. $600 x 6


3. Start sinking funds for next car and house expenses. Still working on details-$110/month right now.
4. Use YNAB to track spending and budget. Update weekly.

Personal:

1. Work out or walk 2x a week.
2. Walk dog every day.
3. Recommit to morning and evening Flylady routines to reduce mental clutter.
4. Attend a Bible study.
5. Act on my interests and learn something new--possibilities are astronomy club or Master Gardener

House

1. Make a planned project for each month to improve the house. Projects include: painting the kitchen, my bedroom, 2nd bedroom, refinish wood floors, make steps to the river, new bathroom floor and tub walls.


2. Start a compost bin and plant a garden.

These goals are a work in progress, but it feels good to have a direction to start 2009.

Recovering and Week 4 Updates

It has been over a week since my last post. It was quite a busy week, plus I was dealing with a nasty cold that was making the rounds at our school. I struggled to teach each day and then come home and collapse. I'm telling myself that since I caught this cold so early in the school year, I'll probably be immune for the rest of the year ;-). Enough complaining, on to the updates.
September Goals
1. Establish morning and evening routines for both home and work. Even though I have not been vigilant with my morning and evening routines, I have still been getting to school early. DD1 gets the credit for helping me get out of the house in the morning. She packs my lunch and gets DS up. I will renew my efforts this week to keep up the morning and evening routines. I won't always have DD1 living with me!
2. Pay off CC1 ($925). I have paid $690 to this credit card in September. I don't think I will be able to pay more. The reason for the miscalculation is that my part-time job at the local community college changed the pay schedule, so I brought in $200 than I had planned. Even so, I haven't completely given up paying this one off in September.
3. Investigate membership class at church. I attended the membership class to find out more about the theology and mission of the church. I think the theology is a good fit for me and I love the worship services. The main obstacle to joining, is that the church is 35 minutes away. I don't change easily, so I am reluctant to commit in case the distance would prove daunting. Next step-sign up for a small group to determine if I like that aspect. I don't change easily so I am extra cautious (maybe too cautious) in commitment.

Focus for the next week:
1. Concentrate on morning and evening routines. Decide which to keep for next month.
2. Pay more on CC2 if more money comes in.
3. Sign up online for a small group at church by Friday.

Evaluating monthly goals is motivating for me. I enjoy reading the goals and update of other bloggers, also. Some bloggers I follow who update goals frequently are Notes from the Frugal Trenches, Paid it Down, Paradigm Shifted, and Renee. Check them out and cheer them on!

FLYLady Routines

I am a FLYLady fan. Her website has a lot of information and encouragement for those of us who have trouble getting organized. One of her suggestions is to establish morning and evening routines. Eventually, these routines will become automatic. She even gives examples of her routines, to help get you started. I've been trying morning and evening routines (on and off) for a few months, so I have a starting point for my September goals.

My morning routine:

1. Shower and dress


2. Make bed


3. Unload dishwasher


4. Eat and take blood pressure medicine


5. Devotional


6. Feed pets


7. Straighten bathroom

My evening routine:

1. Shine sink


2. Plan outfit for tomorrow


3. Brush teeth


4. Take contacts out

I also made a routine list for work--items to start and end every day. I may make a chart to record my progress each day. This will let me see where the problems are with a little more clarity.

Goals for September

I enjoyed posting and following through with two small blog goals last week, so I decided to post monthly SMART goals. The goals will be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Thank you to deepali at Paradigm Shifted and DLD at DebtLessDuty for their suggestions! In addition, I found a helpful post "How to Achieve Your Goals with Healthy Habits" by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits (This was a guest post at PickTheBrain). Leo's six steps include:

1. Positive changes replacing negative habits.
2. Take a 30 day challenge.
3. Commit yourself completely.
4. Set up rewards.
5. Plan to beat your urges.
6. Track and report your progress.

This blog will help me with steps 3 and 6. Knowing that I have to follow up on my progress or lack thereof will be motivating to me. Since monthly goals fit perfectly with the 30 day mark, September will be a good start. I'm having trouble thinking of a reward that would be motivating, but not cost $. Planning to beat my urges is also problematic, because my urge is laziness! That's hard to beat. I'll try to work through these two issues as the month progresses.

My September goals are:

1. Establish morning and evening routines for both home and work. Routines will help simplify and de-stress my mornings. I have some ideas for specifics which I'll write about later. Any FLYbabies out there?
2. Pay off CC1 ($925). This should be doable, if no other Murphy visits occur.
3. Investigate membership class at church. I've been thinking about this for several months. It's time to take a step forward.

The time frame for all three goals is the month of September, but I will evaluate weekly progress.

I'm excited about my goals for September. Anybody else making September goals?