What's New With You? Linkup #7
Happy August (WHAT?!) everyone! For today's What's New With You
linkup (ps make sure you link up your post at the bottom and check out
all the other posts!), I'm going to be updating you all on my monthly
goals. This was a pretty good month for me, and it completely flew by!
Each month, I'll go through each goal area and talk about my progress on each resolution. If there's a "+" by the resolution- that means I was successful that month! If there's a "-", unfortunately I missed the mark. Some of my goals are more of a year-long thing, so until I complete the entire goal (for example saving $15,000) I'll have a "-" (which is why none of my fitness goals have a "+"). I'll give you a quick update on my progress though, and hopefully there will be a "+" before the end of 2016!
Enough chatting for now, let's get to my monthly resolution update for July!
- Save $15,000 20,000 in my joint account, $6,000 alone
saved $1504 in joint account
I hit my goal for our joint account already! I can't believe how quickly we were able to save, so now I want to see if we can get to $20,000 by the end of the year. For my personal account, I didn't save anything this month, which is why I need another no-buy month!
Each month, I'll go through each goal area and talk about my progress on each resolution. If there's a "+" by the resolution- that means I was successful that month! If there's a "-", unfortunately I missed the mark. Some of my goals are more of a year-long thing, so until I complete the entire goal (for example saving $15,000) I'll have a "-" (which is why none of my fitness goals have a "+"). I'll give you a quick update on my progress though, and hopefully there will be a "+" before the end of 2016!
Enough chatting for now, let's get to my monthly resolution update for July!
Financial Goals
August Spending Freeze
I successfully completed a 6-month spending freeze, and then went kind of crazy in July. I'm going to make August another no-buy month! I will make an exception for my time in Vancouver (it's a short trip but I might pick up a few things at the Seawheeze race expo!)
+ Save reward money (Discover, Ebates, Ibotta) for entire year
I'm loving seeing it add up! So far, I have $110 for Discover, $55 for Ebates, and $151 for Ibotta. I had another HUGE month in Ibotta thanks to lots of referrals..remember if you use my code you'll earn $10 on your first rebate!
I'm loving seeing it add up! So far, I have $110 for Discover, $55 for Ebates, and $151 for Ibotta. I had another HUGE month in Ibotta thanks to lots of referrals..remember if you use my code you'll earn $10 on your first rebate!
- Save $
saved $1504 in joint account
I hit my goal for our joint account already! I can't believe how quickly we were able to save, so now I want to see if we can get to $20,000 by the end of the year. For my personal account, I didn't save anything this month, which is why I need another no-buy month!
Fitness Goals
- Run 1200 miles
January miles : 95 miles
February miles : 122 miles
March miles : 102 miles
April miles : 60 miles
May miles : 79 miles
June miles : 93 miles
July miles : 98 miles
(so close to 100 last month!! Argh)
I'm up to 649 miles for the year!
January miles : 95 miles
February miles : 122 miles
March miles : 102 miles
April miles : 60 miles
May miles : 79 miles
June miles : 93 miles
July miles : 98 miles
(so close to 100 last month!! Argh)
I'm up to 649 miles for the year!
Personal Goals
- Read 25 books
1. Life and Other Near-Death Experiences
2. It Starts With Food
3. 40 Days
4. Atonement
5. The Rosie Project
6. Animal Farm
7. Yes Please
8. Maybe In Another Life
9. Sharp Objects
10. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
11. Spark Joy
12. The Silent Wife
13. The Choice
14. Sweetgirl
15. Room
16. The Grownup
1. Life and Other Near-Death Experiences
2. It Starts With Food
3. 40 Days
4. Atonement
5. The Rosie Project
6. Animal Farm
7. Yes Please
8. Maybe In Another Life
9. Sharp Objects
10. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up
11. Spark Joy
12. The Silent Wife
13. The Choice
14. Sweetgirl
15. Room
16. The Grownup
+ Set up cleaning schedule
See my post here! I'll be posting a new one for our house this month! (I have it written out, just need to share!)
I also added this to my Bullet Journal which has made the process much easier to stay on track.
See my post here! I'll be posting a new one for our house this month! (I have it written out, just need to share!)
I also added this to my Bullet Journal which has made the process much easier to stay on track.
- Monthly cooking challenge
January : Whole30
February : 4 Ingredients Gluten Free
March : Share 4 recipes on blog
Spring Rolls
Avocado Egg Salad
Brownie Batter Energy Bites
Turmeric Tea
April : Spend less than $200 on groceries
Done! I actually only spent $110 this month- which is WAY less than my average of $400. Check out how I did it here!
January : Whole30
February : 4 Ingredients Gluten Free
March : Share 4 recipes on blog
Spring Rolls
Avocado Egg Salad
Brownie Batter Energy Bites
Turmeric Tea
April : Spend less than $200 on groceries
Done! I actually only spent $110 this month- which is WAY less than my average of $400. Check out how I did it here!
May : Cook an international meal
I kind of cheated on this, but I made an Indian meal. I used a Masala simmer sauce from Trader Joe's (which I recommend!), mixed with sauteed onion and chicken, over top of Jasmine rice, and served with cilantro and a piece of Naan. It was delicious!
June : Share four recipes
I didn't hit this goal for the month, but I did post a round-up and shared two drink recipes!
July : Eat Vegan
Going vegan was surprisingly easier than I expected. I have no plans on turning back. Would you all be interested in a post on how and why I decided to go vegan? I'm not sure if that's a topic that people are interested in, so please let me know in the comments!
August : Share two recipes
Hitting four recipes is a bit too ambitious for me right now, but I want to get in the habit of sharing more! Be on the look out for some recipes this month :)
I kind of cheated on this, but I made an Indian meal. I used a Masala simmer sauce from Trader Joe's (which I recommend!), mixed with sauteed onion and chicken, over top of Jasmine rice, and served with cilantro and a piece of Naan. It was delicious!
June : Share four recipes
I didn't hit this goal for the month, but I did post a round-up and shared two drink recipes!
July : Eat Vegan
Going vegan was surprisingly easier than I expected. I have no plans on turning back. Would you all be interested in a post on how and why I decided to go vegan? I'm not sure if that's a topic that people are interested in, so please let me know in the comments!
August : Share two recipes
Hitting four recipes is a bit too ambitious for me right now, but I want to get in the habit of sharing more! Be on the look out for some recipes this month :)
Other Goals
+ Post 3 times a week on GretchRuns, and once a week on Gretch at Home
I did great with this goal in July!
I did great with this goal in July!
+ Complete one mini house project a week.
July Projects:
Small Kitchen Updates (post coming next week!)
Installed curtain pulls in living room
- Check off three items on my 30x30 list
I didn't do anything this month! Hoping to do SUP yoga before the end of the season.
I didn't do anything this month! Hoping to do SUP yoga before the end of the season.
- Plan my next trip
I have a trip coming up in August, so after that I can focus on trips for 2017.
- Finish a scrapbook
I need to buy a new book, then I can work on finishing it!
I need to buy a new book, then I can work on finishing it!
How are you doing on resolutions?
Would you be interested in a vegan post? (please tell me your honest opinion!!)
What's New With YOU!? Be sure to link up and check out all the other blogs!
You could always just go and buy the new international flavor lays :D That could be your international meal! Lol
ReplyDeleteWow, you are so ambitious! I'm impressed :-)
ReplyDeleteI am always interested in knowing why people choose to go vegan. I don't think I could manage it... I live in the land of cheese and chocolate!
I would say you are killing on your goals! Especially your financial ones! We need to get better about saving. We have been doing better this year than ever before, but we can certainly still work on it. It is hard to save when you have to buy a bunch of baby stuff! Haha! And I am seriously impressed with your grocery bill. You don't even want to know how much we spend on groceries. I have tried to cut it down but it is hard!
ReplyDeleteSo happy you stuck to being vegan for the full month !!! Exciting !! :)
ReplyDeletei'm on a spending freeze as well because of house crap breaking down and our big vacation next month.
ReplyDeleteyou killed your goals!! congrats :)
Congratulations on a whole month as vegan! I'm stoked to here that you will be continuing. July was my one year vegan anniversary and I am so excited to hear/read about a new vegan! Seriously, it was one of the best decisions I have made in my life.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to hear about your experience for that first month! I think it's fascinating to see how each person does their vegan-thing!
Congrats and props to you!
~ K
www.lifeasunusuals.com
Soooo organized with your goals and rocking them!! Dropping the grocery bill is always something I strive for and 110 from 400 is AMAZING!!
ReplyDeleteYour money saving thing is totally inspiring me. I still will never get over how little you spend on groceries! MIND BLOWN.
ReplyDeleteNice job on all of your goals! I'm so jealous you're going to Vancouver.. I can't wait to read your recaps of everything:)
ReplyDeleteI love your goals! It is awesome how you have categories but a different challenge each month. I did categories at one point but I think I had too many in each one and it was too much to keep up with. Definitely considering trying your approach!
ReplyDeleteI tried my first spending freeze and now it's kind of morphing into "how frugally can I live my life in general?" I've never been good at budgeting but I think I'm slowly learning better spending habits! Chore charts is another one I've struggled with. I've made so many but when it comes to actually following through after I get home from work, that's tough. Some days I work and then have freelance projects and everything gets dropped. Other days it's more of a discipline problem.
You go girl - looks like a successful month :) This August, I just want to settle into my Sophomore year of college on a good note! I am just starting blogging, too. Not only is it fun, but it's something to work on and learn with!
ReplyDeleteIn my post today, I talked about how I'm not good with goals and long term plans. You need to be my inspiration! I just got a planner that I guessss would be good for bullet journaling, but I am hesitant to give it a name because then I feel pressured to make it look a certain way. But, I think writing things down will be the first step in getting me focused on something. You're doing awesome!
ReplyDeletedang girl, you are just killing it on all the goals. i'd love a post on how you stay motivated and dedicated on accomplishing your goals, especially if you have a secret trick ;) i make goals but don't always accomplish them! congrats on hitting your joint savings goal, that is seriously amazing. and yes, i'd love a post on how/why you went vegan and why you have no plans to turn back. i'm nosy like that! good luck on your no spend month, i am 2 months going strong, you'd be so proud of me ;)
ReplyDeleteI second Kristen - I want to know how you totally kill it every month because I'm so impressed!
ReplyDeleteWith my vet bill and determination to pay off all my debt ASAP, I'm basically going into no spend years. haha. If only.
You are so good at checking off your goals! I'm doing a no-spend month too (on things like clothes and stuff) and I hope I can actually accomplish it!
ReplyDeleteYou know I'm interested in a vegan post already.
ReplyDeleteBut, also wanna hear about trip planning once you start. I feel so lost right now. I want to get planning and have a few big things on the horizon, but I'm just stuck. Nothing sounds quite right, so I haven't made any moves. So hard to narrow things down when you want to go everywhere. Anywhere sticking out to you right now?
Wow this is so awesome!! Your budgeting things alone have me super inspired!! That's amazing. We are trying hard to save more money each month, but I feel like we could be doing more! I love how you are doing your bullet journal to keep track of it all - putting my goals into monthly format and then into my planner has really helped me out. :) Have fun in Vancouver! I would love to go and am super envious right now! hehe XO - Alexandra
ReplyDeleteSimply Alexandra: My Favorite Things
Wow, you spend so little on groceries! Is that for you and Dan or just you, if you don't mind me asking? I feel like my grocery budget was lower when I lived in Ohio and was single than living out here in Seattle and shopping for two.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe how much you saved with Ibotta! I really need to stop being lazy with it. I don't mind scanning my receipt, but when I know I have to scan each item, I procrastinate. Wow, that's some incredible grocery savings. I'm going to check it out. I usually spend that much each week. That's awesome that you've gone vegan! I'm usually vegan and have gone vegetarian during pregnancy. Hopefully, I can go back to vegan afterwards.
ReplyDeleteYes please I'd really like to hear about how you found going vegan, and your favourite recipes, what you typically eat in a day... Especially if they're gluten free recipes as well! Congrats with your progress, sounds like you're doing great against your targets.
ReplyDelete