by Kelly on September 2, 2009
in update
My challenge was a success! I got rid of over 5 things a day in the month of August.
There was a lot of this during the month of August:
What you can’t see is the arguing, the fighting, and general we-are-bored-of-summer-vacation craziness that happened. There was blood, lots of tears, some bruises, and some time outs. And that was only me!
My hope was that I would get through the whole house one room at a time, and I’d start September clutter-free.
Let’s just say that things like this get in the way.
Despite all that, I still managed to get rid of 5 things a day. But can you believe that’s not enough? Though there are 6 of us living here, I try to keep things simple. Clearly there are forces at work against me.
I’m going to continue my 5/day challenge through this month. I still have winter/fall clothes to sort, the kitchen, the basement, and the garage to sort through. I’m actually looking forward to it, since 2 of the kids are in school, and 1 more will be soon.
How did you do with the 5/day challenge? If you didn’t participate why not start today? For more details check out my original post: 5/day clutter challenge.
I hope I’m still not doing this in 2010!
Kelly
It’s been a week since we started our No Spend Month, prepare yourself for a cringe-inducing update on our spending so far.
We’ve spent a total of: $362.37 Ouch!
Here’s how it breaks down.
Gas: $39.32
Groceries: $109.72 (includes paper products)
Pets: $54 (does NOT include $109 vet visit to prep puppy for neuter later this month)
Allowances: $19
OTHER
Printer Ink: $33.92
Eating Out: 56.43
Household: $7.39 (potting soil)
Target: $33.02 (lantern and batteries for camping)
Some of these items we needed at an unfortunate time (printer ink, vet visit, potting soil), some are monthly expenses we happened to need this week (puppy food, cat food, paper products), and some were just out of desperation (eating out).
Overspending happened in 3 areas: gas, groceries and eating out.
Gas: I’m spending more on gas than I’d like. Partly this was July 4th when we sat in traffic for about 30 minutes, but it is also dropping and picking up my daughter from camp 4 days a week. I’m going to try walking her to camp everyday next week. This is good for me, for her, and for my budget.
Groceries: The grocery budget was higher than I expected since we needed to replenish our paper products (happens once every 1 1/2 months), and we splurged a bit for our meal on the 4th.
Eating Out: There is no reasonable explanation for it, so we’re counting this as our allowances. (we budgeting $25/each for it)
Dog: I did not include the cost of the vet visit ($109) or the dog’s surgery (est $180) since these are being paid for by our pet fund.
We have a total of $387.63 left for the rest of the month. So in other words we have approx. what we spent in 1 week that needs to last for OVER 3 weeks! Yikes!
Thankfully the fridge and pantry are mostly stocked, we don’t have much on the agenda this weekend. We’ll probably stick close to home, and get some gardening done.
We’re camping with friends this evening I’ve never gone camping with all 4 kids, so I’m kind of crazy with worry and excitement, I’ll see you all tomorrow, when I’ll be hosting my first ever giveaway!
Are you participating in a no spend month? How is it going?
Kelly
by Kelly on May 1, 2009
in money
photo credit: USACEpublicaffairs
It’s official! I ran my stats this morning. the ¢entsible life had 50% gains across the board! That’s twice as many visitors, pageviews, and subscribers! I also saw the numbers for length of visits go up as well, which really encourages me to keep writing.
I really appreciate everyone’s continued support, and want to thank you all for reading my blog. I am especially grateful to the readers who have been with me from the beginning. Thanks for staying with me through the last few months.
As my job finishes up I plan to devote more time to blogging, and I hope that the site will continue to grow. If the last 2 months are any indication in May the ¢entsible life will have another growth spurt.
I would love if you could share my site with friends or family, you can point them to my RSS feed, my email, or just copy and paste this:the ¢entsible life.
If there are topics you’d like to see my cover or questions you have, please feel free to email me. I love to talk to talk to people. 
UPDATE:
I saw some other end of month posts, and they had something I was missing. Check it out!
TOP POSTS IN APRIL
- Top 5 Financial Mistakes
- Budgeting Bi-Weekly Pay
- I quit my job
- Paycheck Stimulus
- Target Scams
TOP REFERRING SITES IN APRIL (does not include direct or google)
- Chief Family Officer: Big thanks to Cathy, it’s been a pleasure to get to know you and your audience. I was super impressed with how long visitors from CFO stayed on the site, an average of 9 minutes!
- twitter I LOVE twitter, it’s such a fun place to be, and it’s full of funny insights, and loads of great tweets.
- Get Rich Slowly: J.D. Roth’s site is one of the big personal finance sites, just by commenting on some of his amazing pieces I had a ton of traffic! If you haven’t visited GRS, what are you waiting for?!
- Political Calculations Blog: Somehow I ended up being an editor’s choice for this blog’s money roundup!
- Problogger: Taking part in the 31 Days to a Better Blog challenge has given me a nice boost, and some new subscribers. I’m also benefiting from getting to know some of the most interesting bloggers out there, from so many different niches.
Honorable Mention
- Rainy Day Pennies: Cathy has been a great supporter and for the lengthy and awesome email she sent me on San Francisco alone, she’s worth a mention! She is super knowledgeable, and her posts are always through and thought-provoking! Thanks Cathy!
- Fly Away Family: I was super excited when I saw MB’s site, not only do I love the design, but I love her posts. They have a reason to save (they fly to Australia to visit her husband’s family), but her posts make me want to save more (even though I don’t have the awesome excuse)
- Man vs. Debt: A big thanks to my blogging buddy, Baker. He has created a great site, just check out his stats from the month of April! (his first month of blogging) If you haven’t been by yet, please go check out Man Vs. Debt. If only for the awesome name!
Kelly
by Kelly on April 10, 2009
in update
I didn’t post a March update this month yet, but better late than never!
March Goals
1) Work out 3-4 days a week: I started working at a gym, and one of the perks is a free membership. I will start working out this week. I’m really looking forward to it, the gym is beautiful, and offers some really wonderful classes like yoga and pilates (mat) included in the membership.
I did not start officially working out until this month. I had to get my paperwork signed off on at the gym, and I continued not feeling well for most of the month. (no worries, I did go see the doctor, I am going back in for one repeat test this month, but otherwise everything is “normal”)
I have been taking the dog for a walk several times a week, so while I averaged 3 times a week it’s not exactly what I need to get fit.
This goal will roll over into April.
2) Limit Starbucks: This was a bad habit this past month. We spent a LOT in February at the ‘Bux. I am considering preloading a card and sticking to that amount for the month. For me it’s a big stress reliever, and I really enjoy my coffee. It’s really my only vice.
We were successful in cutting back, but I’d like to cut it out altogether for the next 2 months. It will only be a small drop in the bucket, but it will help pay for our trip to SF.
3) Write a To-Do list each morning:
I generally do this, but I need to set aside “office” time each morning for 10 minutes and check in on my calendar and my to-dos.
Done! And I’ll continue but not add this to April’s list. It’s become a habit now.
4) Continue healthy dinners, and playtime with kids.
Check on playtime, not so much with dinner. We are really going to work on cleaning up our diet now that Spring is here.
April Goals
1) Workout 3-4 times a week at gym, not to include walking the dog.
2) Limit discretionary spending in anticipation of June trip. To include Starbucks, “extras” at grocery store, etc.
3) Make a Meal Plan every week and stick to it.
4) Spend one evening or afternoon each week creating a backlog of posts. Then I can enjoy the beautiful weather or have a great day out with the kids, but you can still read something wonderful.
5) Complete planning for June trip, summer vacation, and school for kids next year.
6) Make an updated will. This one should really be number 1. Before we fly to SF I want to make sure we have an updated will and testament for both my husband and myself.
To make these goals more PRESENT in my day, I’m going to print them out and post them on the wall in my bedroom. Cliche? Yes, but if it works, it works! What are your goals this month? How do you remind yourself of what needs to get done?
Kelly
Well, it’s that time again. Time to review my monthly goals and set next month’s goals. <gulp>
February Goals Update
- Give Up Coffee: uh, not so much. This month was particularly stressful, and I just couldn’t met this goal. I am going to put this on the back burner for now, since I think I need to wait until it’s Spring.
- Make healthy dinners every night: I did okay in this department. I was still sick for about half the month, so we did do some takeout. I would say about 70% of our dinners were healthy and cooked. The other nights we had takeout or everyone just had something random. (yogurt, sandwiches, leftovers, etc.)
- Play with the kids for 40 minutes each day (10 per kid). I have been doing pretty well in this department. I found that with my girls it was nice to spend time with them together, or give them extra time on the weekend. Being sick (I know I’m a broken record!) for so long has made it slightly more difficult but I think I’m MOSTLY over it now thank goodness!
March Goals
- Work out 3-4 days a week: I started working at a gym, and one of the perks is a free membership. I will start working out this week. I’m really looking forward to it, the gym is beautiful, and offers some really wonderful classes like yoga and pilates (mat) included in the membership.
- Limit Starbucks: This was a bad habit this past month. We spent a LOT in February at the ‘Bux. I am considering preloading a card and sticking to that amount for the month. For me it’s a big stress reliever, and I really enjoy my coffee. It’s really my only vice.
- Write a To-Do list each morning: I generally do this, but I need to set aside “office” time each morning for 10 minutes and check in on my calendar and my to-dos.
- Continue healthy dinners, and playtime with kids.
Virtually Organized has a March Procrastination Challenge! Sign up at her site here.
Have you set any goals this month? How will you accomplish them?
Kelly
