Project 2012- Totally Rad.

I dislike everything about New Years.

I don't like to stay up late. I don't like to drink a lot at parties (who am I kidding. I don't go to parties). And I usually end up picking a resolution that only makes me feel bad about myself in the long run. All that being said, it usually ends up being my least favorite holiday. One in which I get into my pajamas around 7pm, and fall asleep on the couch trying to stay awake until midnight. Then Ryan wakes me up, laughing, because he finds my overly tiredness HILARIOUS and we go to bed around 11:40. Happy New Year.

BUT NOT THIS YEAR!

Without trying to add too much pressure to it, I've decided that 2012 is going to be absolutely rad. I am going to embrace the fact that I am NOT a night owl, and I will gladly go to bed after celebrating East Coast New Years at 9pm my time. And that will be the start of a good year. One in which I am productive, but not overwhelmed or uptight. One in which I have fun with my husband and spend time doing things that I want to do. One in which we will, hopefully, become a family of three. Or at least find out we will be one shortly. ;) Because when I really think about it... we've got pretty much everything we need in place to have an awesome year. I'm done with school. We both have jobs we like. We have pets we adore, we have a nice house that we love, and we have more time together than we've ever had before. Perfecto, no??

However, I decided I didn't want to entirely skip out on doing the whole Resolution thing, so I decided that my resolution was to be Monthly Goal Making. Each month I will sit down and write a handful (no more than 6, no less than 3) of attainable goals that I feel will help Project 2012- Totally Rad. Since my life focuses right now have been on Financial Independence and being a good homemaker, they mostly revolve around those things. And that's just the way I want it. :) So, here goes!

January Goals

1. Try one new dinner recipe.
2. Try one new baking/dessert recipe
3. Stick to a set cleaning schedule (I feel like this is going to be the toughie)
       Sun- Bedroom
            Tues- Bathroom
            Thurs- Kitchen
             Fri- Laundry
            Sat- Floors and kitchen
4. Obey "15 minute rule" as often as possible- this is where you set a timer right when you get home and work for 15 minutes to do whatever it is you gotta do to make the rest of the day easier. I usually end up using it to throw a load of laundry in, pick up random stuff around the house, change the toliet paper roll... whatever. It's super helpful and you can do almost anything for 15 mins, right?
5. Pay $200 towards debt
6.Stick to $40/ week grocery budget, with a $15/ week stockpile budget


I'm excited to see how these go! The thing that is nice for me is that if something falls a little, or it's not working out, I only have to scrap it until the next month, when I can make completely different goals or change one to make it work for me! And if I screw up completely, I get a fresh start in just a few weeks! Easy, peasy! So, what I want to know is who wants to make some monthly goals with me?? And what are your resolutions? Let's hear 'em!



Next step, Rehab.

Boys and girls. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends and family. I have a confession.

I've been getting high.

You may be asking yourself what substance it was that took such a straight laced girl as myself down. Well, I'll tell you...

It's coupons (gasp).

You may have remembered in an earlier post that I mentioned Ryan and I were on a saving kick... We (and by we I mean ME and Ryan would agree) to be debt-free in three years. That means no consumer debt. As in, no more credit card payments, and no more car loans. Both (!) our car loans will be done in just under 3 years, leaving us at that point, hopefully, with just our mortgage and my student loans. Which are both reasonable, and I'd argue, perfectly acceptable according to most personal finance gurus. They are considered to be the only "positive" forms of debt because at some point they will both pay you back in a sense. We don't have a whooollleee lot of debt, but things build up over the years (especially with one of us in college for the past umpteen years) and we decided it'd be better to be free and clear.

So I figured my options were: make more, or spend less. I've worked as many as 3 jobs at once in the past. And I'd do it again if I had to. But I would really, really rather not. I'd done the "make more" bit and while it worked out ok, I wasn't really super happy doing it. (Read: I was exhausted and grumpy all the time). So I decided to spend less. The only real way to do this was either eat nothing but Top Ramen every night, or bite the bullet and learn about this whole "couponing" mumbo jumbo.

ADDICTED. It can be, at times, like legal stealing. Without the moral or legal implications. When you get a good deal, it's what I imagine getting high feels like. Giddy, excited and a little lightheaded. (Ok, I exaggerate a little) And I'm not even very good at it yet. YET. But I will be. I've only been at it for 2 weeks. The first week I got my feet wet with a few double coupons at Albertsons and a few manufacturer sales. I was interested, but not impressed. But then this week was much better. I got things for free, planned an entire meal for Ryan and I that cost a total of $1.50, and today at Target I saved $30 dollars on about $74 dollars worth of groceries and personal items (tampons, razors, etc.) I paid $44 dollars, plus got a $5 dollar giftcard to use on my next Target trip.

The one thing I'm having an issue with is the idea of "stockpiling." Avid couponers swear it's the only way to really be a successful couponer, but I'm not convinced I really have the space for that sort of thing. I was considering putting some shelves in the garage, which isn't really being used right now since Truth Remains has vacated it, and we don't park in there... I could even buy a stand alone freezer for out there... hmmm...

SO. In conclusion... I <3 coupons. Don't judge. And here's the most helpful websites I've been using:
http://www.frugallivingnw.com/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
I found both of these off a friend's facebook page. So, friend, if you're reading this... thanks and sorry I'm a creepy FB Stalker!! :)

ALSO! If you want to get your feet wet, here's my favorite coupon tip most people haven't seemed to catch on to: You can buy the Sunday paper, with all the inserts at the DOLLAR STORE. Making it half price instead of the $2 it normally is!! WooHoo!