One Hundred Dollars a Month

1. Pay Down the Mortgage

We were able to knock 3 payments off our contract this month {1 regular payment and 2 “principal” payments}. I am setting aside my “rug hooking money” to go towards paying extra on our February payment.

2. Buy Nothing New for 1 Year. 

I was seriously debating about whether or not I should buy a Sun Therapy Lamp. That, or going on meds, or buying a one way ticket to somewhere with LOT’s and LOT’s of sunshine. I don’t even care if it’s warm {I love the snow} but I can’t stand the rain anymore.

3. Track Spending and Figure Out New Ways to Cut Spending Even More.

Some of the big and small things I did this past week that saved us money:

• I gave the HH a trim. I bought a set of Wahl Clippers 20 years ago and they are still going strong. Why pay for salon haircuts when you can do it at home.
• I saved the seeds from the butternut squash we ate and will use them in my garden this year instead of buying them.
• Paid 3 bills online and save $1.47 {No stamps!}
• My neighbors pruned a tree and I saved the smaller branches to use in homemade firestarters and the primitive flowers I sell on Etsy and Ebay. I’ll use the larger branches to build a garden trellis later this spring. 

4. Try 52 New Recipes.

I tried a new quiche recipe this past week. Stay tuned for the recipe. 🙂

5. Keep My Grocery Budget Under $100 a Month.

I ended up spending $105.36 on groceries in January. And I’m pretty happy with that. I’m going to try and keep my grocery budget under $94 in February to get back on track.

6. Go on 52 Dates with the Handsome Husband 

The HH and I had originally planned to go to lunch and a movie but as I was tidying up the house before we left the idea of bowling popped in my head. The last time the HH and I went bowling was about 10 years ago with the kids in Ireland.

Neither of us are great bowlers but we had a blast. We also popped into Costco on the way home to pick up some eggs and stopped at the food court for a bite to eat. {The HH got a weenie, soda and a churro and I had a churro too}. Bowling $21.74, Costco Food Court $3.80. Talk about a cheap date. 😉

So far this year we’ve gone on 3 dates and spent $25.54 out of pocket for our “dates.”

7. Turn My Wool Stash into $5,000.

I had a crazy good week turning my hobby into cash. I sold 6 hooked rugs and 1 set of flowers. 5 items on Ebay and 2 on Etsy for a total of $474.69 {before fees and supplies were factored in}.

So far in January I’ve sold $1563.92 {wowza!}

I was going to do a tally at the end of each month to see how much profit I actually made, but I think I’m going to wait until the end of the year to add up the cost of supplies, fees, shipping, and other misc costs to make it easier on myself. I do know that ebay/etsy fees and paypal fees eat up about 12-15% of the cost to sell an item and I’d estimate another 10-13% is the actual cost of supplies {so about 25% all together}. Even with about 75% of the price of an item accounting for my time, I bet it still doesn’t work out to be minimum wage.

I have no desire to “log my time” simply because I pick up my rug hook at such random times {in a waiting room, on an airplane, while I’m watching a movie/listening to an audiobook} and I just don’t need another thing to keep track of. I like what I do, it’s a joy, and I feel like my items are priced accordingly.

8. Get Rid of 1,000 Things. 

This week I set aside 61 DVD’s for my yard sale.

9. Read 52 Books in 52 Weeks.

This week I’m reading Grow All You Can Eat in Three Square Feet so I can learn how to maximize the space in in my raised garden beds.

10. Track Hours Spent Working on My Vegetable Garden and do a Cost Analysis at the End of the Year. 

So far this year I have harvested 2 pound 10 ounces of red potatoes, 9 ounces of beets, and 5 ounces of carrots. You can read about my latest garden harvest HERE.

Time spent working on Vegetable Garden in 2016: 45 Minutes

11. 52 House Projects in 52 Weeks.

This week I put a second coat of paint on the trim work in parts of the hallway and office.

12. Make all Birthday and Christmas Gifts This Year or Acquire Them for Free.

This week I made 2 more batches of firestarters. 🙂

How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2016? How are they coming along?

~Mavis

Read About My 2016 Goals HERE.