The Travel Jar

It's the last night of month 1 of the spending diet! I am stoked to have saved over $2500, and also a tad mortified that I was spending that much per month on non-needs. The first month wasn't bad, despite a few moments of "ugh I want take out" But all in all... The high of having set out to do something and DOING IT is amazing. I was even under budget in two categories: I spent a total of $147.50 on wants (budget was $150, so I totally could have grabbed a $2.50 coffee or baked good today, but refrained), and I spent $177 on groceries (budget was $200). GO ME! But I'm no robot, yo... I got wants. Here are some things that I missed, and am very excited to purchase immediately after I pay off my car and LASIK: A bottle of Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. A bottle of pumpkin beer. A week-long organic vegetable juice cleanse (no joke, I feel like a fucking super hero when I do these). An adventure abroad. Delivery from Sushi Uni, and takeout from Sweet Siam and...

Month 1 of the spending diet is coming to a close, and this month I was able to put $1000 in my emergency savings fund as a buffer, and throw $1,525.47 at my car loan. The high is unbelievable. Saving truly does feel so much better than spending. $16,568 left in car/medical loans to go. I can do this. I am that much closer to true freedom and more choices. This month wasn't super easy, but it honestly wasn't that hard. November (road trip home to the Northeast) and December (holiday gift pressure) may be far more difficult. I've been reading some good books this month... Right now I'm in the middle of Tim Ferriss's Four Hour Work Week, and last week I finished Freakonomics . I'm thankful that my audible membership doesn't run out until May! And then, if I am still in debt, I will do the library thing instead of renewing. And speaking of renewing entertainment memberships, I did not  renew my beloved Pandora Pro membership- September 22nd wa...

I usually don't care for quotes, but I love  the above saying, and always have. There is something a little bit romantic about it. I usually picture an unknown wide-eyed, squat, gray haired woman saying it, with a wooden spoon in hand, as she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose with the other hand. I have weird thoughts. Last night I tried de-pilling my very pilled gray drapey cardigan with my fabric shaver. After 20 minutes, I had only de-pilled a quarter of the garment, and I wasn't having much fun. So, I stuck it in my donate bag. I wore it out... And now I'm doing without. My blue zip hoodie can achieve the exact same objective as the cardigan (which was mostly used as a security blanket during horror movies- I would swadle myself into the drapey fabric. And now, I can pull my hoodie strings and escape just as effectively, when the zombies start up again). By the way, fabric shavers are awesome. Check out the coolness that I did accomplish before I got b...

Hello from the homeland of Lawrenceville, NJ! I'm at my parents' house- last night we drove back from Vermont, where my cousin got married. I've decided that Vermont weddings might be the most beautiful things ever. Today I'll be getting some work done (I have a speaking gig next weekend all about closet decluttering/organization tips, so I'm updating and fine-tuning some of my go-to stuff for that), and running some errands for my folks as a thank you for flying me out here for the wedding, which was very nice of them. Then tomorrow my dad and I hit the road on a two day drive to Kansas City- Dad and my stepmom Rachel are attending a Wyoming wedding this weekend, and Rachel will be flying out to meet him- Dad is a sucker for road trips in the western United States, so he prefers to drive. Also he is retired, and Rachel still works, so she needs to fly. I'm delighted to report that I've spent NO money on Wants on this trip so far. I did buy some grocer...

Freedom is my WHY in life (yeah, I love Simon Sinek too). To encourage this, I want to be completely independent with my finances, and having monthly car and medical payments doesn't exactly encourage the feeling I desire of being unchained. On September first I started a spending diet. This is different from a spending fast, because I get a $150 budget every month for my Wants. The goal is to pay off the rest of my wonderful LASIK surgery from last fall, as well as "Ruby", my new (used) little wonderful Prius that I bought in June when I traded in the old Avalon. Here's the breakdown Still owe on LASIK: $2,568. Monthly minimum is $184, 0% interest (which rocks, but I still want to pay it off ASAP). Still owe on Ruby: $15,525.47. Monthly minimum is $270, 1.79% interest (not too shabby, but... debt is debt). Les Rules Minimize spending on Needs if possible. Only $150/month for Wants. If I mess up before the end of the month I have to do something kind ...

Welcome to my little blog. I love writing so very much, and I am thrilled to see you here. I also blog on my business website, simplicana.com, but I'm a well-rounded human, and I like to write about other things too, hence creating a separate blog to channel the thoughts that are not work-related. A question I get asked a lot, and it is said with love and respect 85% of the time, is "what weird new thing are you up to now?" And this is because I am always up to weird new things... I give myself little mini challenges, and I obsess fuss over them, and have a blast with them. These challenges are mostly to do with travel, finances and minimalism. Some quick facts... I moved from my hometown of Lawrenceville, NJ to Kansas City in November of 2012. But I've lived in lots of other places, the biggies being NYC, Washington DC, and Chiang Mai, Thailand. I'm 31 years old and I think it's weird that people get anxious about this question- that's su...