Wow, seems like we just rang in the new year and now it’s already February. I did good on some things in January like blogging regularly and drinking a little more water. Some things weren’t so great. I didn’t get to add to my emergency fund, in fact I dipped into it but part of that is just due to my paycheck adjustment I’m still dealing with so that will eventually settle out. January in Kentucky was extremely cold, which was a great excuse for me to stay indoors and not go to the gym. I finally got back to Planet Fitness last week though and I’m going to work on getting back into the habit of regular exercise this month.
So January’s focus challenge was decluttering and I vowed to work my way through my condo and purge 40 items. Technically I wrote down 36 items that I disposed of and I didn’t make it to my bathrooms but I did toss some old items from my pantry that I didn’t write down so I’m counting this as a win.
What I Got Rid Of
20 articles of clothing, 2 purses and a leather portfolio, some baking dishes and mixing bowls, and some books. A good portion of the items went to Goodwill, I sold the books, and I gave the kitchen stuff to a relative that needed it. I plan on dumping a bunch of expired toiletries and old medicines tonight so that should complete the challenge (2 days late).
February is about the Finances
Moving on to February, it’s a short month so I think I’m going to focus on my money. I plan on reducing my grocery budget this month by 20%. That will be $80 savings if I can manage it. My grocery budget includes grocery food and also our household goods like laundry detergent, toilet paper, OTC medicines, shampoo, etc. I keep our budget pretty tight anyway so I’m going to be trying to use coupons a little more, shopping the sale ads a little closer, and using every little bit of our current supplies that I can.
I’m also going try to have 16 no spend days. There’s only 28 days in the month so this will definitely be a stretch goal, especially since I’ve already spent money each of these first two days of the month. Staying out of the stores will be the key here so I will have to be very deliberate in my shopping trips.
Excuses or Opportunities?
February might be a short month but that doesn’t mean you can’t accomplish a lot in it. New Year’s Resolutions tend to drop by the wayside this month. Don’t believe me? Compare attendance at your local gym this month compared to last month. People complain all the time about feeling stuck in life. Don’t be one of those people. Find something that’s not working or needs improvement in your life and do something about it. Creating change doesn’t have to be done in monumental leaps, find one small thing you can do differently this week or month to improve your life and do it. No excuses!!
