Decluttering the Apartment
Posted on May 17, 2013 4 Comments
Last night, I made a deal with myself that I’d get rid of five things in my living room. You see, despite my best efforts, I still have a lot of stuff lying around that I haven’t used in years, and every once in a while I set a little goal like this to help declutter my living space. Inevitably, once I get on a roll, five things turns into many more, in many other areas of my apartment.
So, tonight I got rid of:
- 7 pairs of shoes! (1 for gymshoe recycling, 2 in the trash, 4 to the Salvation Army)
- 6 books (to the local library)
- 1 hat (Salvation Army)
- 4 purses (family and Salvation Army) and 1 laptop bag (family)
- 1 unused swim suit and one pair of lightly used sweats (family)
Personal Finance Link Love – Week of May 13
Posted on May 17, 2013 No Comments
Now that my blog is back up, I’m pumped to return to reading other personal finance bloggers. One easy way to read your favorite authors consistently is to use a feed reader, like Feedly; another is to subscribe by e-mail (my subscription link is on the right over there >>).
Here are a few good posts I read this week by personal finance bloggers. I’ve shared some of these via Twitter, but in case you missed them, enjoy!
- Frugal Beautiful: A creepy letter I wrote to myself a year ago.
- Give Me Back My Five Bucks: How much should you save before moving out?
- Money Under 30: Sell your junk for profit.
- My Pretty Pennies: Home improvement- decluttering.
- Eat. Live. Run.: I’m going to Ethiopia.
- Get Rich Slowly: Financial advice for my former self.
- Budgets are Sexy: My new non-spending tracker.
I am feeling very inspired by some of these posts. I’m also super impressed by the design of these sites; these bloggers are so talented! I wish I could hang out with all of them.
One last resource for the week; I also plan to share Dave Ramsey’s free guide to budgeting with my younger brother, who is just starting out in his first apartment on a tight budget.
Meet Alan the Aloe Plant
Posted on May 15, 2013 1 Comment
![IMG_0742[1]](http://thebudgetingbabe.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/aloe-plant.jpg "Alan the Aloe Plant")
Sometimes it’s a nice day outside and you take a 10-minute walk to soak in the sun, and then you come back to your office with a $6.99 aloe plant named Alan.
In my ten-plus years of office life, I’ve never had a work plant before. I was drawn in by something a little more colorful, but without thinking about anything other than how useful this plant will be when I am sunburned, I snatched up this little guy and carried him with me. After I set it up, I realized my mom keeps an aloe plant in her window, and maybe that’s why I bought it.
At any rate, on a day when I brought everything I needed from home (lunch, drinks, snacks), I walked out of the store with $10.26 in unnecessary purchases, among them my new friend Alan, all because it’s a nice day. I’m such a sucker for good weather.
Mother’s Day Spending Recap
Posted on May 13, 2013 2 Comments
My mom is a fun lady. This photo is evidence. Here she is, doing a fancy dance with me a several years ago that involved her winding up my sash (it was attached to the bridesmaid dress I was wearing), then making me “unwind” on the dance floor. Clearly, we are tearing it up.
“The Unwind,” a dance move created by my mom.
Though she can cut a rug when the occasion calls for it, Mother’s Day is typically a low-key event for my family. We usually just hang out at my parents’ house; my dad cooks, my the rest of us watch movies and play sports outside. Read more
Quick Budgeting Tip No. 1
Posted on May 8, 2013 4 Comments
It’s Wednesday! People used to call it “hump day” when I was younger, which was hilarious. Because anything involving the word hump is pretty funny when you’re 11. Then I found out the real reason had to do with Wednesday being the middle of the week, thus the ‘hump’ to get over, and that seemed far less funny. So to you I say, “Happy hump day!” where the hump is about the humping and not about the middle of the week.
On to budgeting. Here’s a little tip to get you through the week: If you feel like your financial future is one big mess, focus on things you can control now vs. those you can’t.
For instance, in 2009 I was spending a lot of time freaking out over how my parents would afford health care during retirement and what the future might (or might not) hold for me. But those are things I can’t control, and worrying about what might or might not happen in the future is no way to enjoy all the wonderful things that are happening around me right now — or to ensure my stability. Thinking about a million different possibilities that may happen 10 years from now is enough to leave anyone dizzy with doubt about the “right” investments, paralyzed and overwhelmed by all the options. Read more
