so i realized today as i was cleaning our extremely messy one bedroom apartment which looks more like a studio when it is at it's worst. you guys know what i mean- one little pile of "stuff" makes your apartment look like a tornado hit it! so i decided today was the day- i was going to take my day off and clean the apartment- after some well deserved internet surfing and chick flick movie watching of course :0)
i realized from cleaning the house that not only do you find things that you wanted a loooooong time ago but could never find but also things that you never knew you had- like a brand new toaster- apparently a wedding gift D and i never knew we had received- how lame is that- i really really hope i sent out a thankyou note on that toaster...
another thing i also found was A LOT of change! i mean there was nickels, dimes, pennies, even quarters absolutely everywhere! D and i must have found at least 50 dollars worth of change! i felt like i was on the hunt for gold! naturally after finding so much change we decided to check the car for change and one thing led to another and we become billionaires...... you don't believe that do you? didn't think so.... but we definately came out of this "hunt" with a little extra cash- more cash then we had when we woke up! so i guess the moral of this post is every time you clean your house- also clean your change- not literally but you get the picture! just from looking in the car and in the house we filled 1/2 of a jar! that to me is amazing- all that change just lying around! i think that this jar will be our official change jar- what will we save for? oh i don't know.... the possibilities are endless- and since i like to make lists and fantasize about someday having enough money to make these things happen i will share my list with you fine people :0)
1. a house- something old with a lot of character and history- beautiful natural wood and two stories- a nice finished basement and possibly a nice attic that could be renovated into a master bedroom :0) and of course a hot tub ( a little bit of a stretch huh?)
2. kids- D and i have been talking about his more and more lately- we agree that right now wouldn't be the best time- we are thinking of sometime in the near future though so it is definately something i would like to save for. i know my mom struggled with money when i was younger and i want to be able to provide for our kids what they need- i don't necessarily want to spoil them but every once in a while couldn't hurt :0)
3. a trip to Peru- D and i also talked about this- we LOVE to travel! the first year we were together we saved every bit of money we had- and i mean EVERY BIT of money we made- D's tips from bartending, my measly salary at school and anything else we could scrape together! we took that money- which we also kept in the same jar we are using now for our change (good luck? i hope so!) and hit the road to Florida! i had never been there and it was an amazing trip- one of the best we've ever taken- memorable and absolutely breathtaking- the scenery was gorgeous and my trip mate wasn't bad either :0). wherever we end up going on vacation i know it will be fabulous- our 1 year anniversary is coming up august 11th- i hope this jar gets us to somewhere romantic and warm!
4. a new car- now this one as you will notice is lower on my list- because well i don't really care about what i drive. however i do know that i will need a dependable vehicle not only now for work and school but also for when we have kids. i don't need anything flashy- just something that will get me here and there and will last us for quite a while!
5. new furniture- living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom- again these things are lower because they are more indulgent, guilty pleasures. D and i love furniture- he loves the classics- post century modern all the way- i love funky furniture- my favorite store to browse? IKEA- definately IKEA! who knows? maybe our jar of change will get us that awesome new couch we've been eying up :0)
and more practically.....
6. new clothes for both D and I- we desperately need to update our dress- i have had a lot of the things i wear for work for faaaaar too long- D too. i really like the styles they have right now at target- and yes target is the kiss of death, especially to your paycheck and or pocket book- but i still am forever in love with that store- they have everything i need!
so that is my list- not a big one (well at least not toooo big right?) but it definately is a list! i can't wait to start making a little more money so we can finally start ourselves on the right track! D and i talked about today how we could save money- we accomplished the jar idea but what else is there? here is my challenge for my fellow blog readers- i love love love your comments- they are always insightful and heartfelt- this is why i turn to you for this :0)If you could answer this question it would definately bring more insight to not only me but also to all the other readers- i think we could also use a few savings tips and i look forward to hearing what you have to say!
HOW DO YOU SAVE MONEY? WHAT WORKS, WHAT DOESN'T?
well girls- speaking of money i have to hit the road- off to work :0) didn't i say this was my day off? well my semi- day off - no day is really complete until i have made at least one trip to either one or both of my jobs!
happy thursday! :0)
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4 comments:
I think you meant "Mid-Century Modern". Post century modern is kind of hard to achieve.
:0)
Oh, we ALWAYS find change when we clean. In some of the most random places too. Once our jar is full, I take it to the bank for cash. I always dream of it being hundreds of dollars. It's usually only $5. Hmph!
As far as saving, create a budget for yourself. Figure out what you can realistically put away each month--you obviously have to figure out how much you spend on rent, cars, food, etc. Whatever you are left over with--how much of that can you actually save? 10% of your take home? 5%? Whatever it is, it helps. Set up an ING savings account. They have a pretty high interest rate. Does your employer have direct deposit? Automatically have the amount you figured on saving (the 5, 10, whatever%) deposited into that account and make a rule for yourself that you cannot touch it. It's pretty surprising how much it actually can grow. But again, the first step is figuring out your budget and how much you can actually put away. Also, if you are carrying a balance on your credit cards, it doesn't make sense to save money if the interest rate is lower than what it is on your cards, so instead of saving that money, put it toward your credit cards to pay them down quicker.
This is maybe way more than what you wanted, so I'm sorry. Good luck! You can do it. :)
Hi Harmony! This is my first time to your site - I added you to my blogroll!
As for saving, I second Sierra - open an ING account! It makes saving FUN. And always pay yourself first!
I third that budget rule -- save a little money every paycheck in an account somewhere and "forget" you have it. Don't touch it, even though it'd be easier to. It doesn't add up quickly but it's nice to know that you have SOMETHING set aside. It's what we do, anyhow.
I also just added you to my site! Thanks for the comments on mine!
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