I prepaid a gym membership a while back, and still have some months left. However, it expires this year. I already know I won't be renewing it. Why?
1. I (almost) never use it.
2. I have taken up running, which I can do for free, outside (God bless Southern California weather). I use my boyfriend's GPS watch, so I can track my pace and mileage, which is awesome. Also, I'd rather put my money toward various 5k races than a gym membership.
3. I'm addicted to the Active 2 game for PS3. I cannot recommend this game enough! I wrote a review of it on Amazon, so if you want to read more, click here. This is how I plan to tone up this year, and based on how sore I am, I'd say it's working.
4. We also have Everybody Dance for the PS3, which got me sweating and moving on New Year's Eve. This could definitely count as a cardio workout.
5. If I want more workout variety, I can purchase Zumba for PS3, more dance games, or rent workout DVD's on Netflix.
Will I miss going to an occasional Spin class? Yes, but honestly, I can get a good workout in my neighborhood and at home for cheap/free. So, I am still hoping to hit up one class per month (see my goals for 2012) for the rest of my current membership, but when it expires, I'll say goodbye to the gym. And I honestly don't think my fitness will suffer.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
No Spend Dinner
Tomorrow is my payday, and BF doesn't get paid until Friday...and we are brokety-broke-broke because of Christmas, mini-vacation, and various other things. So, today I stayed home and organized the house (lots of stuff for Goodwill), and made dinner with all ingredients I had on hand. And for once, it's not a totally bizarre combination of convenience foods! I'm so excited that I had to share:
Appetizer: Hummus with crackers and sugar snap peas
Meal: Boneless pork ribs (bought when they were on clearance for $3.96) in crock pot. Used two small onions I had in drawer and the last of the BBQ sauce. My house smells great! Ranch beans (can in cupboard) and Macaroni and Cheese (from a box in the cupboard).
Dessert: Strawberry Jello with mixed berries (bag in freezer) and low-fat cool-whip.
It definitely helps that I've been buying meat when it goes on manager's special and keeping it in the freezer...made it a lot more do-able to create a real meal, rather than just random side dishes.
What's the best improvised meal you've come up with lately?
Appetizer: Hummus with crackers and sugar snap peas
Meal: Boneless pork ribs (bought when they were on clearance for $3.96) in crock pot. Used two small onions I had in drawer and the last of the BBQ sauce. My house smells great! Ranch beans (can in cupboard) and Macaroni and Cheese (from a box in the cupboard).
Dessert: Strawberry Jello with mixed berries (bag in freezer) and low-fat cool-whip.
It definitely helps that I've been buying meat when it goes on manager's special and keeping it in the freezer...made it a lot more do-able to create a real meal, rather than just random side dishes.
What's the best improvised meal you've come up with lately?
Monday, January 2, 2012
Music to My Ears
BF is selling some furniture that was being stored in my mom's garage for the last six months. (While we were/are totally committed, we both knew that s*** happens, and decided to keep some big items for a time, while we adjusted to living together). He is currently listing the items on Craigslist, and when I asked about maybe giving the couch to a friend who could use it, he said twelve words that were music to my ears:
"I want to use that money to pay down my credit card."
YES. This is not how he used to roll, people. He is used to carrying a few thousand in CC debt, and just paying it and reloading it. He even said that if he weren't with me, he would just leave it there. (Which could be trouble down the line, because I want it to be HIS choice. But I'll take what I can get.) He's also been putting a pretty impressive sum toward his CC each month, so I think it will bit the dust in the first quarter of this year.
I am especially excited about this choice, because one of my goals is to be debt free by my thirtieth birthday in October. And in the back of my mind, I sometimes think, "What's the point? When/if BF and I get married, I'll just be taking on his debt."
And I will. He has a car payment and some student loans as well. But, I can deal with those if there's not a credit card debt in the picture, and if his habits and goals align to mine. He'll always be the spendier one, but I've seen changes in how he handles money that are encouraging.
They say you can't change a person in a relationship. And that's absolutely true. I can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do (trust me, I've tried.) BUT, people can change. Something that I love about BF is that he has changed in his adult life. He's made mistakes along the way, but I admire that he has grown past them, and keeps growing. We both do, and I think that's part of what makes things work.
Have you had your partner grow in financial choices because of your influence? Have you been influenced by your partner?
"I want to use that money to pay down my credit card."
YES. This is not how he used to roll, people. He is used to carrying a few thousand in CC debt, and just paying it and reloading it. He even said that if he weren't with me, he would just leave it there. (Which could be trouble down the line, because I want it to be HIS choice. But I'll take what I can get.) He's also been putting a pretty impressive sum toward his CC each month, so I think it will bit the dust in the first quarter of this year.
I am especially excited about this choice, because one of my goals is to be debt free by my thirtieth birthday in October. And in the back of my mind, I sometimes think, "What's the point? When/if BF and I get married, I'll just be taking on his debt."
And I will. He has a car payment and some student loans as well. But, I can deal with those if there's not a credit card debt in the picture, and if his habits and goals align to mine. He'll always be the spendier one, but I've seen changes in how he handles money that are encouraging.
They say you can't change a person in a relationship. And that's absolutely true. I can't make him do anything he doesn't want to do (trust me, I've tried.) BUT, people can change. Something that I love about BF is that he has changed in his adult life. He's made mistakes along the way, but I admire that he has grown past them, and keeps growing. We both do, and I think that's part of what makes things work.
Have you had your partner grow in financial choices because of your influence? Have you been influenced by your partner?
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Bloggy Secret Santa-Thank You!
I opened the card and saw that my gift was from Sharon at Musings of a Midlife Mom. I really enjoy her blog...it focuses on "living more and spending less."
I tore open the package and saw two great gifts inside:
I got this adorable stationary set! It goes great on my desk at work, and it's nice to have something pretty, inspirational, and useful for work. I love the color-scheme too!She also got me this awesome set of mini-lip glosses from Ulta! I love the variety in colors, and they're perfect to slip into my purse to take with me! I even returned my unopened lip gloss I bought at Sephora because I was so excited about these!
So, though this is late, a huge thank you to Sharon for the great gifts, and to Serendipity for organizing the exchange...I'll definitely be participating again next year!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Being Practical with Gift Cards
For Christmas, some of my people were very generous, and I received some gift cards. My grandma got me $50 from Marshalls, one of my aunts got me $25 to Amazon, boyfriend got me $15 to Starbucks, and my boyfriend's dad got me $40 to AMC.
AMC will obviously be used for date nights. We went once already, and are planning to hit up one of the movies before noon ($6 per ticket) before the break is over to use the balance. Ideally I wanted to use it all on matinees, but we were out in LA the other day and needed something to do to avoid traffic for a few hours, so there went $27 of the card. I can't remember the last time I went to a non-discounted movie, and I remembered why when I saw that balance. BF also has a free ticket from giving blood, so we could combine it with that to go to an evening movie as well.
I went to Marshalls yesterday and got some new kitchen knives (mine are from Ikea and they're ATROCIOUS). These knives are colorful and high quality. I am so enjoying using them already! We also needed new hand soap for the bathroom. I had planned to hit up the Bath and Body Works sale, but instead found two bottles on clearance at Marshalls and used my gift card. They smell good and I like having something nicer than Dial in the bathroom. I snagged a few pairs of underwear as well, and still have $7 left on the card. I think I'll use it to get some scrapbooking stuff I saw. I do a scrapbook project for a novel we read in my English class in the Spring, and it will be nice to spend a little less out of my own pocket on the materials. I like that I got something I've been wanting (knives), something I need (soap), and something that I needed, but that is also fun to buy (cute underwear).
I'm going to combine the Amazon gift card with Swagbucks gift cards, and hopefully buy the Playstation Move bundle from Amazon. This is the starter set so you can play all the dance games on PS3, which would be super fun. Boyfriend mentioned splitting it...I might go with that, or if I can turbo charge my Swagbucking, get it for us for Valentine's Day. I think it's something fun we could do together at home, and I'm dying to try the Michael Jackson game. :) I think this is a good balance of using it for something fun (which I think my aunt would prefer), but also being practical and using it to save money on a bigger purchase/gift.
The Starbucks card? I'm hoping to meet up with a friend to hang out next week, and plan to suggest that we meet at Starbucks. This will save me money because I'm not spending money eating out, like we normally would. I may also use it in the next few days when BF and I go away overnight to go to Magic Mountain together. We shall see.
BF was teasing me, saying they must be burning a hole in my pocket...and it's true, I do tend to spend my gift cards ASAP! I love shopping, and it's fun to do it guilt-free. I've also made a game out of seeing how I can use them to save money from my regular budget.
Did you get Christmas gift cards? How did you use them?
AMC will obviously be used for date nights. We went once already, and are planning to hit up one of the movies before noon ($6 per ticket) before the break is over to use the balance. Ideally I wanted to use it all on matinees, but we were out in LA the other day and needed something to do to avoid traffic for a few hours, so there went $27 of the card. I can't remember the last time I went to a non-discounted movie, and I remembered why when I saw that balance. BF also has a free ticket from giving blood, so we could combine it with that to go to an evening movie as well.
I went to Marshalls yesterday and got some new kitchen knives (mine are from Ikea and they're ATROCIOUS). These knives are colorful and high quality. I am so enjoying using them already! We also needed new hand soap for the bathroom. I had planned to hit up the Bath and Body Works sale, but instead found two bottles on clearance at Marshalls and used my gift card. They smell good and I like having something nicer than Dial in the bathroom. I snagged a few pairs of underwear as well, and still have $7 left on the card. I think I'll use it to get some scrapbooking stuff I saw. I do a scrapbook project for a novel we read in my English class in the Spring, and it will be nice to spend a little less out of my own pocket on the materials. I like that I got something I've been wanting (knives), something I need (soap), and something that I needed, but that is also fun to buy (cute underwear).
I'm going to combine the Amazon gift card with Swagbucks gift cards, and hopefully buy the Playstation Move bundle from Amazon. This is the starter set so you can play all the dance games on PS3, which would be super fun. Boyfriend mentioned splitting it...I might go with that, or if I can turbo charge my Swagbucking, get it for us for Valentine's Day. I think it's something fun we could do together at home, and I'm dying to try the Michael Jackson game. :) I think this is a good balance of using it for something fun (which I think my aunt would prefer), but also being practical and using it to save money on a bigger purchase/gift.
The Starbucks card? I'm hoping to meet up with a friend to hang out next week, and plan to suggest that we meet at Starbucks. This will save me money because I'm not spending money eating out, like we normally would. I may also use it in the next few days when BF and I go away overnight to go to Magic Mountain together. We shall see.
BF was teasing me, saying they must be burning a hole in my pocket...and it's true, I do tend to spend my gift cards ASAP! I love shopping, and it's fun to do it guilt-free. I've also made a game out of seeing how I can use them to save money from my regular budget.
Did you get Christmas gift cards? How did you use them?
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
2012 Goals
I am loving reading everyone's goal recaps for 2011 and new goals for 2012! It's inspiring, and I think people are making a good combination of challenging yet realistic goals for 2012. Here are mine (action plan to follow in another post):
Financial
1. Fully fund Emergency Fund (six months expenses).
2. Max out Roth IRA using a monthly contribution.
3. Become DEBT FREE by my 30th birthday (just student loan left!)
4. Save $5,000 in a down payment fund.
Health
1. Run a 5k in under 30 minutes
2. Drink more water.
3. Use Play Station Active 2 regularly to tone up.
4. Go to a class at the gym once a month.
Personal/Professional
1. Work on communication with BF using Weekly "Relationship Check-ins."
2. Go to church service of some type once a month.
3. Work on not losing my temper with my students, even when there are over 40 in a class and they seem to be trying to piss me off.
4. Complete 92 hours in order to earn my National Board Stipend.
Travel
1. Plan trip with BF this summer using National Boards Stipend.
2. Take a trip to visit or go somewhere new with Shelley (I haven't told her this yet, but I miss her face!).
3. Visit at least one baseball stadium I've never been to (definitely San Diego, maybe also Arizona?)
4. Go wine tasting again (we talk about it all the time, need to MAKE IT HAPPEN!)
Financial
1. Fully fund Emergency Fund (six months expenses).
2. Max out Roth IRA using a monthly contribution.
3. Become DEBT FREE by my 30th birthday (just student loan left!)
4. Save $5,000 in a down payment fund.
Health
1. Run a 5k in under 30 minutes
2. Drink more water.
3. Use Play Station Active 2 regularly to tone up.
4. Go to a class at the gym once a month.
Personal/Professional
1. Work on communication with BF using Weekly "Relationship Check-ins."
2. Go to church service of some type once a month.
3. Work on not losing my temper with my students, even when there are over 40 in a class and they seem to be trying to piss me off.
4. Complete 92 hours in order to earn my National Board Stipend.
Travel
1. Plan trip with BF this summer using National Boards Stipend.
2. Take a trip to visit or go somewhere new with Shelley (I haven't told her this yet, but I miss her face!).
3. Visit at least one baseball stadium I've never been to (definitely San Diego, maybe also Arizona?)
4. Go wine tasting again (we talk about it all the time, need to MAKE IT HAPPEN!)
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Online Rewards Review: Disney Movie Rewards
This is a post in my series about different online rewards sites.
Early on in my frugal days, I stumbled upon Disney Movie Rewards thanks to The Freebie Blogger. I saw various codes listed on there, and decided to register and enter them. I am not sure, in hindsight, if these were allowed to be shared as they were, so I can't technically recommend that you use the codes on that site. However, since then I have been above board in all my point earnings, and I'm still able to get some goodies that way.
I believe the idea is that when you buy various Disney movies, there are codes that come in the packaging. If you redeem the codes, you earn points. I rarely buy Disney movies, so that first glance, this one seems silly for me to join. Here's how I make it work for me anyway:
1. Their monthly newsletter has a code worth 5 points.
2. They occasionally have quizzes or freebie points that they email out. I still check The Freebie Blogger for points that seem legit and open to everyone, not just those who purchase movies.
3. The 25 days before Christmas, ABC Family has a code for 5 points on their site every. single. day. Score! You just have to remember to go to the site each day and click on the link. I haven't remembered every day, but I have snagged 80 points just this month. Yes, I'm a jackass for posting this as the December points are ending. Should've done this on the first, I know.
4. If you take photos of Disney movies you see in the theater, you can upload pictures of your ticket stubs and get 50 points per ticket. I plan on seeing The Muppets any day now, so I'll definitely use this feature soon!
Last year I used my points to get a free calendar from Snapfish. This year I'm still saving, but I am a fan of the different rewards available from Snapfish. I'm currently at 430 points, and my goal is to get all of my Christmas cards next year for free using this site (I would need 1100 points to get 40 free cards from Snapfish). They also have plenty of Disney merchandise, but that's not really my thing, so I stick with Snapfish rewards.
This isn't the most amazing site in the world, but it's easy to earn the points-usually just a click, not even reading much information. Definitely one of the easiest rewards sites.
Anyone else use Disney Movie Rewards? Have you gotten any cool prizes that I'm missing out on by only focusing on Snapfish?
Early on in my frugal days, I stumbled upon Disney Movie Rewards thanks to The Freebie Blogger. I saw various codes listed on there, and decided to register and enter them. I am not sure, in hindsight, if these were allowed to be shared as they were, so I can't technically recommend that you use the codes on that site. However, since then I have been above board in all my point earnings, and I'm still able to get some goodies that way.
I believe the idea is that when you buy various Disney movies, there are codes that come in the packaging. If you redeem the codes, you earn points. I rarely buy Disney movies, so that first glance, this one seems silly for me to join. Here's how I make it work for me anyway:
1. Their monthly newsletter has a code worth 5 points.
2. They occasionally have quizzes or freebie points that they email out. I still check The Freebie Blogger for points that seem legit and open to everyone, not just those who purchase movies.
3. The 25 days before Christmas, ABC Family has a code for 5 points on their site every. single. day. Score! You just have to remember to go to the site each day and click on the link. I haven't remembered every day, but I have snagged 80 points just this month. Yes, I'm a jackass for posting this as the December points are ending. Should've done this on the first, I know.
4. If you take photos of Disney movies you see in the theater, you can upload pictures of your ticket stubs and get 50 points per ticket. I plan on seeing The Muppets any day now, so I'll definitely use this feature soon!
Last year I used my points to get a free calendar from Snapfish. This year I'm still saving, but I am a fan of the different rewards available from Snapfish. I'm currently at 430 points, and my goal is to get all of my Christmas cards next year for free using this site (I would need 1100 points to get 40 free cards from Snapfish). They also have plenty of Disney merchandise, but that's not really my thing, so I stick with Snapfish rewards.
This isn't the most amazing site in the world, but it's easy to earn the points-usually just a click, not even reading much information. Definitely one of the easiest rewards sites.
Anyone else use Disney Movie Rewards? Have you gotten any cool prizes that I'm missing out on by only focusing on Snapfish?
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