Wow - I am having lot of trouble right now financially. Putting away money each month is proving to be more and more difficult. I am really cutting back and still barely scraping by. I just keep thinking that this will all be worth it when I am waking up in new and exciting locations around the globe a short 4 months from now.
What have I been doing to save money? First I cancelled my cable, that was a savings of almost $90 a month. I have been doing as much cooking at home as possible, and I am about to cut off my daily Dunkin Donuts coffee runs - A savings of roughly $60-$70 a week all together! (I am really going to miss my pumpkin coffee :( *le sigh). I am not purchasing any new clothes or accessories, unless it is a gift, in which case I really watch my spending, or I can use it next year while I am traveling.
This past weekend I even had my first yard sale. Clothing that I haven’t worn in a while, knickknacks, and housewares were all dragged to the curb and sold to the highest bidder. This was rather heart breaking, as it is difficult to see your possessions sold for as little as .25 or a dollar, but I made $200 all together and every little bit helps. It was also nice to unload all of the *stuff in my life. I plan to do another overhaul soon and just give all of the unnecessary things in my life to charity. From this point forward I want my life to be more about experiences than things.
That being said, it is the experiences I am trying to have this year that are really causing all of my financial woes. A trip to Key West and Vegas put me back nearly $1000 a piece. Coming up I have a trip to Williamsburg, VA and to Florida to visit my college buddies, not to mention the mini weekend getaways and events - birthdays, apple picking upstate, Sunday Funday, and a New Years getaway with friends. I see all off these things as completely necessary, especially since I will not see my friends for a whole year while I am traveling. At the same time every one of these things is taking away from what I may be able to afford to experience next year. What a predicament!
But no body said this would be easy. I just have to keep plugging forward, doing the best I can to save money and still have a good time. I have a few tricks up my sleeves though, so stay tuned ;-)
What have I been doing to save money? First I cancelled my cable, that was a savings of almost $90 a month. I have been doing as much cooking at home as possible, and I am about to cut off my daily Dunkin Donuts coffee runs - A savings of roughly $60-$70 a week all together! (I am really going to miss my pumpkin coffee :( *le sigh). I am not purchasing any new clothes or accessories, unless it is a gift, in which case I really watch my spending, or I can use it next year while I am traveling.
This past weekend I even had my first yard sale. Clothing that I haven’t worn in a while, knickknacks, and housewares were all dragged to the curb and sold to the highest bidder. This was rather heart breaking, as it is difficult to see your possessions sold for as little as .25 or a dollar, but I made $200 all together and every little bit helps. It was also nice to unload all of the *stuff in my life. I plan to do another overhaul soon and just give all of the unnecessary things in my life to charity. From this point forward I want my life to be more about experiences than things.
That being said, it is the experiences I am trying to have this year that are really causing all of my financial woes. A trip to Key West and Vegas put me back nearly $1000 a piece. Coming up I have a trip to Williamsburg, VA and to Florida to visit my college buddies, not to mention the mini weekend getaways and events - birthdays, apple picking upstate, Sunday Funday, and a New Years getaway with friends. I see all off these things as completely necessary, especially since I will not see my friends for a whole year while I am traveling. At the same time every one of these things is taking away from what I may be able to afford to experience next year. What a predicament!
But no body said this would be easy. I just have to keep plugging forward, doing the best I can to save money and still have a good time. I have a few tricks up my sleeves though, so stay tuned ;-)
RSS Feed