Hey Guys! Back at it again… but I gotta say, I can’t believe we are already pushing halfway through January, and I haven’t put up a single recap post, goals post, or post of any kind! There is nothing quite like an impending snowSunday afternoon that makes you want to curl up on the couch with a hot cup of coffee and remedy the situation.
2017 Accomplisments
Last year, I tried to not make actual goals… to the point that I didn’t even post about it. I was going through a really rough patch dealing with my PTSD, and the idea of setting goals was far too overwhelming at the time. Instead, I identified a few things I wanted to try, and changes I wanted to make. Of these I did accomplish quite a few, including trying floating, getting on board with nightly bath soaks, Launching a full scale Alice in Wonderland photoshoot (I still haven’t posted all of the pictures), diving deeper into Special Effects Makeup, Shooting my first ever horror short film, and getting to the bottom of my shoulder injury. So it really was quite the busy year!
2018… the Year of Finances
I’ve never been good about saving, and for a long while, I didn’t have much to put away for savings anyhow. Now that I am in a place where could save, if I wanted to, I haven’t. The impetus for wanting to get my finances in order is actually because I don’t have much room in my apartment to leave things set up for my project. Its great having an ok apartment for a really good price, but it would be so wonderful to have a dedicated space for my sewing machine, or to leave my makeup setup out. The search for a bigger apartment makes a huge leap up in costs, to where it would be the same cost as having a mortgage.
Learning how to save
I grew up with a dad that loved buying fun novelty items, and a mom that would stock up on a good deal (one summer I had $1 boxes of cereal stored in my closet for months). Pair that with growing up in a large rural farmhouse where you have an overstocked pantry and deep-freeze, with ample available storage…. and I wasn’t necessarily set up for early success.
Through December, I have been following Jordan Page’s method for “envelope budgeting.” If you aren’t familiar, check out her video below. What I really love about this budgeting method is that it focuses on the little random purchases you make every day, and breaks things down to a weekly budget. So you see something you like, but have already spent your splurge budget for the week? Just wait a few days, and you can absolutely splurge… if that is still what you want. It has really helped me to pay attention to what I actually want… and what things I just buy and never actually use.
The Big Freeze
So not only is Sioux Falls about to get buried under 18 inches of snow, but i’ve also just completed my first “spending freeze!” Another one of Jordan’s concepts (can you tell I’ve on the “freeb” bandwagon?), is to go one week and not spend a dime on anything besides bills or emergencies. Not a cent. No groceries, no eating out, no soda at the gas station (gas is a bill). And believe it or not, you can eat from your existing pantry, I guarantee it. I even had a slip up, where I had a pre-scheduled lunch and when I realized I was out of dog food, but I made it to my next paycheck with enough left in my account to pay off a $200 bill. Boom.
House Hunting!
With that, I am hoping to actually accomplish a long-time goal of mine in 2018, which is buying a house! Perhaps I will change my mind at some point, but for now I’m gung-ho for this goal, and have been saving like crazy. In the mean time, I’m trying to use organization to make the space I’m currently in work better for me overall.
What are some of your goals in 2018?
Hi! I'm Alyce. 
