Thankful Thursdays #36 – March 4th, 2021

This is one of my favourite posts, because I get to talk about what I am thankful for the past week. It is always a good and fun way to end the day, or week with a grateful heart. I would love to hear about yours in the comments.

There are so many benefits of practicing gratitude, so you have never to lose by practicing it. Some of the benefits of gratitude, is you sleep better, and easier, you help lower your stress levels, so it might even be harder for you to feel stress. You also increase your immune system, which helps you decrease your chances of getting sick.

Here is my list from last week…

1. I am thankful that we got to celebrate my boyfriend’s birthday. He loved his present, and that I made him brunch, and dinner for us.
2. I am grateful for being able to go through all of belongings from my old room.
3. I am thankful that I am starting to declutter again, it really helps me reorganize, and make more room for the things I enjoy.
4. I am happy that I was able to spend some time with my sister while I was babysitting my niece. Normally she works all day, and then by the time she is done work, it’s dinner, and then my niece goes to bed, and then my sister gets ready for bed, shortly afterwards. But on Tuesday we were able to hang out, and take my niece out to the park, and for a walk. It was a lot of fun.
5. I am grateful for being able to allocate our finances to pay down our debts. I am really happy that we are on the right path to be debt free. It’s going to take us a little while, but we have spent some time working on what to pay off next. Which is really exciting.

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Day 43

Learn the importance of saving up money, especially during these times of uncertainty. My boyfriend and I have cut down on a lot of expenses already. For example, we no longer eat any take-out, even though it’s nice to get a delivery — no cooking, and no dishes. But it has been fun to make our own food. We have decided that it is good when we don’t get any take-out, or buy much of anything for our selves, like new books, or tea, or anything else.

This way, we know that we have enough money to pay for our bills, and debts. It is a great feeling to cut back on these expenses. We are also trying to save up for the future. It is fun to think about what we can do with the money we are saving up. Some time we would love to get away for a week, or two. We would love to travel to Bali, and Italy. Although because I never been on an air plane before, I would like to start by travelling to Europe first since it’s similar to where I currently live right now, and it’s a shorter flight compared to Bali. I wouldn’t want my first plane ride to be long and stressful.

We love fantasizing what we would like to do with the money, but for now we are just building our savings. We aren’t going to be travelling until it seems safer for us to do. But for now, it feels good knowing that there is extra money in our accounts, just in case anything happens.

Today, I will try my best to cut back on one expenses, so I can build and work on saving money for my future. Having money saved up, will me feel more relaxed with the uncertainty of the future.

Day 20

The sooner you get a handle on your finances, the easier and less stressful life will be. Money can either make life easier or harder. But it is something that can be worked on. I recommend making a budget, and keeping track of where you spend your money. In order to save money, you must not exceed what you make. I know sometimes that can be harder than it actually sounds. But it does take some time, but once you get a handle of it, life becomes less stressful, and more freeing.

When you make your budget, make sure you are including all of your expenses. Make sure you don’t forget about all of your subscriptions (YouTube, Spotify, Netflix, Prime Video, etc.). Use this time to reflect with what you can and can’t live without. Every dollar counts.

Today, I will not let another day go by, without working on my finances. I understand that the sooner I get a handle on my finances, the better my life will be. I will be able to have more freedom, and less stress. It may be challenging at first, but I know I can overcome these obstacles.

Top Ten Tuesdays #20 – January 12th, 2021

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

The rules are simple: Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to http://www.thatartsyreadergirl.com/ in your Top Ten Tuesday post.

This week is all about our 2021 Resolutions. They can include your book resolutions, or other areas in your life.

1. Read 30 minutes a day.
2. Exercise for 20 minutes a day.
3. Save up more money.
4. Get enough sleep.
5. Schedule more time to write my stories.
6. Learn how to crochet via YouTube videos.
7. Continue to declutter my belongings.
8. Cut back on ordering and eating fast food.
9. Eat healthy foods.
10. Travel to a new city, if travelling is permitted.

I would love to hear about some of your resolutions in the comments.

Day 11

Every day, I am writing about a positive affirmation, and I am also going to discuss life lessons that I have learned that day, or have learned throughout my life. Even though I am in my mid-twenties, I still feel like I have a lot of wisdom to offer to others.

I was inspired by these blog posts by reading The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie. In that book she has daily readings throughout that book. She got a lot of her ideas from her other books about codependency. She is a really a good author. I started reading her books because someone dear to me who was an alcoholic. I found comfort in her books.

Today’s lesson is about eliminating one less expense from your monthly expenses. Whether it is you cut back on one less coffee throughout the month, or you eliminate a night of take out. You can look at your subscriptions, and think of cancelling one of them. You can decide how big or how small you want to cut back on expenses. It can really help you with your monthly budget. Perhaps one of your goals this year is to save money, this can be a really good starting point.

Today, I will be more aware of my monthly expenses. I will focus on ways of how I can more responsible with my money, and ways where I can save up more money.

Grocery Shopping

Welcome back to the final post (for now) regarding resetting your finances.

Another tip to help you cut back on your finances, is to grocery shop strategically.

What I like to do is I…

1. Take inventory of what I have, and what is about to go bad. I would include these foods for either the next day, or within two days or so.
2. Check my local grocery store flyer, and see what is on sale. I add things I enjoy on my list. My favourite things to buy are colourful vegetables that I can add to my pastas, stir fries, etc.
3. Have No Meat Mondays to help eliminate the cost of meat, since meat is the most expensive food group at the grocery store. I’m an omnivore so I enjoy meat and vegetables, but I try to cut back on meats.
4. Buy family packs of meat, and freezer bags. I prefer to buy family packs of meat so I can separate my portions into two, or even three meals. I buy bulk sizes for a lot of things, as well. When I freeze my food, I write the contents and date, and expiry date. Then I just thaw it in the fridge when I need it.
5. Stock up on all sale items. If you see something that you like on sale, and it won’t go bad fast, I tend to stock up on it. There would be good sales on pasta noodles, and pasta noodles so I like to stock up since it is a cheap sale, and noodles last a long time. I like to add noodles in my soups, pasta dishes, and other dishes, too.
6. Figure out my meal plan using the ingredients. I like to make dishes with the same ingredients so I can roll those ingredients to other meals. For example when zucchinis are on sale, I can so many dishes with that. I can add to it my pastas, I can make into a ratatouille dish, and I can make zucchini boats. That is where you slice them long wise, and scoop out the remains, and you can stuff it with sausages, or with other vegetables.
7. Stick to the list. If it isn’t on the list, you must discipline yourself to buy what’s only on your list. Nothing more.
8. Keep it within my budget. Now everyone is going to have a different budget, depending on how many people you live with. If you can try to keep your expenses to half of your monthly income.

I really hope this helps everyone, in case you needed that extra motivation to save money.

Budget 101

So, in case you missed out, I have been discussing finances, and thinking of ways to reset our relationship with money.

http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/category/finances/

So far, we have discussed, your statement of net worth, what you owe and your money goals.

Today, we are going to discuss budgets. This is going to show us how we are spending our money.

You can begin with how much money you make in a month. For some this may vary, but try your best to estimate as close as you can, or even compare the previous months to get more of an estimate.

Next, focus on your fixed costs, these are costs that don’t change (ex. rent, phone bill, subscriptions, etc.), then focus on your variable costs, which are things that vary from month to month like (gas, groceries, etc.).

Now, you can subtract your monthly bills from your monthly income. Whatever amount is left over is what you can use to pay down your debts, and into your saving account(s), and even your retirement fund.

If you are not happy with the number that is left over, you can use this time to really consider how important your non-essential bills are. Perhaps you have a monthly subscription to something you no longer use. It is time to cut ties with that expense.

Perhaps you still go out for your daily coffee before going to work. Try making one at home instead, and place it in a traveler mug, or just drink it at home until you can buy a traveler mug.

Eating out can be take a huge chunk of money out of your pay cheque, but it’s healthier for you and your wallet to eat at home. You know what exactly you are eating, and there isn’t any hidden salt, or other bad things for you. I know I was scared of going into the grocery store, but perhaps you have a family member or a friend that you can with or you can ask if they can pick up your share.

If you can grow a garden. Or perhaps you can grow one with your close family and friends and you can share what you grow. You can grow a lot of produce and vegetables.

Another suggestion is to engage in No Meat Mondays, because that would be one less meal that contains meat, which is the most expensive things at the grocery. I’m not suggesting you to give up meat entirely, but you might be surprise on the differences it can have your body, and your grocery bill.

And lose that, “But it only costs $5… I’m going to get it.” How many times have you said that in your lifetime? Every 20 times you say that, costs you $100.

Engage and challenge your friends in having one month of no shopping, where you only spend money the bare essentials (rent, hydro, food, transportation to and from work). No leisure shopping! Or you can start small and dedicate a week or two weeks without shopping.

Try going to the library, instead of buying new books. Engage in book swaps with close people. If you read a book of some kind and think, “Wow, I really think my cousin would appreciate this book.” Drop it off on her porch, or send her a recommendation. Perhaps your family and friends can buy an E-Book or an audiobook, depending on what they prefer. Audiobooks are amazing when you have a long commute to work.

You can also swap your clothes with one another, as well.

Feel free to share your ways of cutting down expenses and save money.

Remember your goal should be spending half of your monthly income towards your bills, and try to put 30% of your monthly income towards your debt, and save the remaining 20%.

Ideally everyone should have an emergency fund of $1,000, which takes time to save, but once you do, it is just a comforting feeling. This takes some discipline, so don’t beat yourself up, if you don’t achieve this as fast as you hope.

Although, it might be challenging during these times, but please try to set a bit of money aside, and it doesn’t have to be much right away. But seeing the amount of your savings increasing, it is an amazing feeling. Saving something is much better than saving nothing at all.

Financial Goals

So, first before we start thinking about our financial goals, it’s important to see where and how much debt we have. And I know it’s scary to actually see this number. Once, you get better picture, the easier things will be for us to make these changes in our lives.

In case you missed out on my blog post from two weeks ago, called Statement of Net Work, http://threeyellowdaisies.ca/2020/07/27/statement-of-net-worth/ I began asking you to write down in a journal or in a personal document what you owe and own. If you are stuck, here’s a list of ideas of what to include;

• Credit cards
• Overdraft (not the amount available, the amount you owe)
• Students loans
• Line of credit
• Other loans
• Money you owe family and friends
• Mortgage(s)

Once you have an understanding of how much you owe, you can then begin working towards paying down your debts.

For some, they might choose to start paying down the one with the highest interest, others may decide on paying their lowest debt, to just get rid of it.

Personally, I feel like it’s best to make payments on the smallest debt first. Because when you start making payments on one debt, you’re building momentum to continue paying off the rest of your debt.

It’s important to continue making payments on your other debts, too. But try to begin setting aside extra money every month for your smaller debt, to help build your momentum.

Once you have decided on which debt you plan on focusing on, you can begin to make goals for yourself with how you are going to set aside your money.

Perhaps your goals, aside from being debt free, are…

• Build an emergency fund
• Save up money for a vacation (with family, or significant other)
• Buy a car

Of course, many of these things are take time, but once you start thinking of these goals, use this as motivation to pay off your debts.

August Goals

I like to dedicate August to resetting. Two of my goals will be resetting my finances and building more structure and routine throughout my days.

I am going to reset my finances by learning not to spend much money, and by paying down my debts, and putting money aside for an emergency fund.

Another one of my goal is make sleep a priority. And one of the ways to do this is by having a routine, that way my mind and body can prepare itself for rest.

Think of a goal you would look to work on this month. And from your big goal, allow yourself to think of small ways to make this goal more manageable. Feel free to write it in the comment sections.

August Preview

This month will be about resetting, and building better habits. I will be discussing routines, how to organize and declutter your house, just to name a few.

I will be keeping everything else the same, such as Music Mondays, Tea Tuesdays, Writing Wednesdays, WWW Wednesdays, Thankful Thursdays, Eckhart Tolle Fridays, and my Daily Decluttering. And now I will be releasing Financial Fridays. Which I am super thrilled to launch.

I am really excited for August because then I will be able to have more of a routine of things. I want to start exercising, practicing yoga and meditating on a daily basis instead of just doing it to relieve stress. So I will be sharing my tips with how to break old habits to make new ones. I will talk about making stronger financial decisions.

I am also planning on writing more stories, and connecting with everyone on a personal basis by commenting on people’s posts. If you have anything you want to ask me or want to reach out to me more privately, you can email me anytime at threeyellowdaisies@outlook.com I will personally reply to your email.

Let’s reset our health and our finances together. May this be the month we all become the best versions of ourselves. And may we also come together.