About my blog

In the past year, I have lost over 55 lbs while working full time and being a full time mom to Maddie, 5 and Carter, 2. I want to encourage other moms who are pulled in a million different directions every day - if I can do it, you can too. I promise it IS possible.

On this blog, you will find information about how I lost the weight (this is an ongoing endeavor!), recipes enjoyed by me and my family, couponing and saving money, thoughts on parenting, yoga, people in general, or whatever else I feel like blogging about that day.


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Small Steps to Big Results

Our extreme budgeting plan worked in some ways and kind of fell apart in others. Most importantly, we were able to pay off 2 small credit card balances and are now tackling the big credit card balance! The plan was to not withdraw any money from either checking account, but just live on the money we could make selling stuff on the local facebook groups and from a Wednesday night gig Scott has that pays $50. We did pretty well with it. We did not withdraw any cash from the ATM (except one time Scott did cause he wanted to go play poker but then he didn't go...). We sold lots of the kids outgrown clothes and my old iPhone on the local give and take groups and actually made a good amount of money. But the "using only the $50 from the Wednesday night gig" part kind of disintegrated into "using only the cash we get from gigs" so anytime Scott got cash instead of a check we would spend it. We are hopeless with cash in our pockets! I also got back into the couponing and have been doing really well with that. After about 2 years, I think I have finally figured out a system that works for me in terms of time, effort, and money.

The extreme budget turned out to be not so extreme but...it worked well for us. We still have tons of stuff to get rid of and sell, including all my old clothes from last spring and summer which are all way too big. We didn't take any money out of the bank so we were able to put the extra towards paying off credit cards. We didn't feel too deprived. So we are going to continue it this month, but in this more modified way. As long as I can quit buying stuff from the give and take groups and just concentrate on selling stuff! I love a bargain and I love to buy clothes for the kids - and now I love to buy myself clothes too!
Where I am calm - headed down the path to the lake!
I know I haven't been blogging on my weekly intention the past few weeks, but I'm still choosing an intention for the week every Monday in yoga class. This week's intention: "I am calm." I will not let things that happen or people upset me this week. I will try not to worry about EVERYTHING and take deep breaths when I start trying to over-think everything. It's weird because I think I am going to pick a certain intention for the week and then when I get to yoga class it feels like the intention picks me. Last week I was trying to choose "I am positive" but my mind kept changing it to "I am powerful." I liked that one. Last week I concentrated on feeling powerful physically and emotionally. The intentions may seem silly but they keep me focused during the week. I am discovering that it's important to have small, daily or weekly, goals when I want to make big changes.

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