I have been anxiously preparing (ok, I mean... Pinterest-ing) for the new year! I'm not a resolution maker, but instead I try to set some goals, put new routines in place and come up with a bucket list of things we want to accomplish and experience.
I tend to bite off more than I can chew, classic overachiever style... and then get frustrated/burned out/give up. My stick-to-it-iv-ness sucks and thats something I've always wanted to change. Well, why not now?
At times I have the desire to be a blog worthy super mom, and when I sit and actually picture what that means to me the first thing I think of is a mom who smiles and is happy. Someone who enjoys their life, their children, their home, their marriage (or soon to be marriage). I envision someone who is busy and productive, but has time and resources to make memories with their family.
Is it strange to think that maybe my complacency and laziness stem from the fact that I just haven't been busy enough? I have nothing to do so I do nothing? We're about to find out, because this mama starts back as a full time student in just a matter of days!
But, I digress, back to the purpose of this post... New Year! 2015! It feels like its going to be a good one, and I want to do everything in my power to feel accomplished and on top of things. I want to feel like I am living life purposefully instead of being drug along by life, struggling for footing.
To my "2015" Pinterest board I have added a few pins about challenges that I plan to take on:
Resolution Blueprint
52 Weeks to an Organized Home
Declutter 365
Dave Ramsay's baby steps
Fiscal Fast
The first of these that I want to discuss is
How to do a Fiscal Fast. I'm excited about this and plan to follow through in January! Can you believe it? Excited? Yeah.. I'm a little surprised too, chronic shopper that I am... but we have been in what I call "eff it mode" for the past two months. "Eff it mode" consists of a loss of income (the child support that the ex-husband has not paid since the end of October) and the desire to enjoy life and the season without having to say no all the time. "Eff it mode" was enabled by a new credit card, and boy did we put that thing to use! I'm not proud of our spending choices, but I'm going to own them because we were fully aware of what we were doing. The reality is that now its time to buckle down and be purposeful with our spending again, and we will start that by NOT spending for 30 days.
With a few exceptions of course:
- Textbooks and school essentials
- Ashlyn's birthday preparations/gifts
- Essential grocery items (including any medicine/first aid need that might arise)
Here is my gray area:
Gift cards -- during our Fiscal Fast, can we use gift cards we received at Christmas as long as we're not spending additional money out of pocket?
B/S/T items -- if I sell cloth diapers, can I re-invest those funds into new to us diapers?
Is the Fiscal Fast challenge about NOT shopping, or about NOT spending money? In my opinion, shopping for pleasure is out. My thrift store outings will be a no go, and instead I'll invest that time into decluttering our home, working on projects in progress and spending time with the family. But I would like to have the option of a family outing to Cold Stone Creamery to use the gift cards that my Aunt, Uncle & cousins gave to the kiddos, and when I make the 3 hour round trip trek to pick up the girlie can I redeem my free Starbucks drink available on my Gold Card? Can I spend the remainder of my Amazon gift card on items that aren't necessary? Does this fast apply to my kiddos as well? Good thing I've got a few days to determine our final guidelines! What are your thoughts on my gray area issues?
Stay tuned for more about my hopes, dreams, plans, goals and wishes for 2015!
