And How Was Your Week?

*I'm a sucker for sunsets.  They make me think of rest. 

This week has been a week of ups and downs.  Ups as I overcame some real lows and downs which basically covers all those lows I had to overcome.  Thanks to God, I did.  But it was rough at times.  Here's the skinny:
1 - Gym steadiness.  I had a renewed vigor about hitting the gym five days a week, and made a real dent in that goal.  I am already at four (I took Wednesday off so I could work on show prep) and I am actually feeling pretty good about it all.  I am very glad to get my circuits done for the week.  Tomorrow will be simple cardio and some weights.  I can handle that.  What I want to get back into is taking advantage of red light therapy.  With winter kicking in, I can use the benefits, but the fact is, once I am done with working out, I just want to go home...


and have a sandwich.


Which brings me to number two

2 - Trigger time.  I have been reading "The Total Money Makeover" by David Ramsey, and one of the things I have gathered so far is I need to look at my triggers and stumbling blocks so I will be aware and prepared when they come up.  This works well both financially and food wise.  So I have taken to writing out things when I start to feel my trigger rear their ugly heads.  Like when I am up late at night.  That is the time where all bets are off and I grab a bowl of chips (better than the bag but not good enough).  This week instead of grabbing the chips.  I wrote in my food journal what I wanted, when I wanted it, and what I was doing at the time.  I looked up the calories and wrote that down too.  I did still end up snacking, but instead it was on a small cube of pepper jack cheese.  This is my new custom.  I am hoping that this kind of food logging will help me make better choices and start to see my own stumbling blocks better.

Stumbling blocks like clothes shopping

3 - Dressing room crisis.  I honestly had no intention of hitting a dressing room any time soon.  I am feeling quite chubly, but I had to go to Goodwill to find a solid colored top because we had photos scheduled for our station.  My boss and actually our photographer prefers us in solid colored tops, and since I don't have one that fits that isn't a t-shirt, I had to invest.  I invested with Goodwill, and frankly I hated every moment of it.  Actually every moment of the dressing room.  While there I discovered that I have gone from everything looking good on me, to some things looking good on me, to some larger sizes looking good on me, to pretty much being inches away from simply bawling because nothing looks good, but some things look the least bad.  I kind of felt like I hit my "rock bottom."  At least on the weight loss level.

The great thing about hitting rock bottoms in anything is, the only thing left is up.
 
4 - More time in God's word.  As rough as parts of this week were, I found real strength when I reached into God's word, my prayer journal and reading the devotional "Jesus Today" by Sarah Young. I do not read it every day, but I read it often.  This week, I had some really tough moments and I actually read one devotional three days in a row.  For some reason I kept forgetting to move the ribbon book mark into a new spot.  Okay...I actually think there was a specific reason why I kept coming upon the same devotional page, I really needed to get that I need to trust God.  Trust that He is working.  

I do.  I am.  

Verse that hit me the most this week:

Jeremiah 30:17
"But I will restore you to health and heal your wounds," declares the LORD, "because you are called and outcast, Zion for whom no one cares.

What I am looking forward to:

Proverbs 31 Ministries Online Bible Study begins on Sunday!  I am off my rock excited about it!  This will be my third study, and we will be delving into "Made to Crave" by Lysa TerKeurst.  There are lots of women all over the world signed up.  I believe the last count was over 36,000!  You can learn more by heading over to their site here.  

How was your week?

2014 - Breaking down my goals - Finances

Yuck.

That is immediately what I think when I think about finances.  

I am not on a salary but there is not a lot of wiggle room in my finances.  Not a lot at all.  Money is not the most important thing in my life, but it is a necessary part of my life.  I am pretty good with it, but I kind of fly by the seat of my pants with it too.  I don't want to do that anymore.  I want to be more accountable and a better saver.  There are also certain things I would like to do in the upcoming years.  One is attend the She Speaks Conference with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  THAT takes money.  Money that isn't just hanging around.  I need to plan for that.  Now since I do not know how much this year will cost, I just have to save and if it works it works if it doesn't, it will next year.

The beginning of the year is never a great time for me to think about finances.  I feel like I am just coming up for air from "The BIG Spend" aka Christmas and my son's birthday (two days after Christmas).  This quickly is followed by "The NEXT Big Spend" aka my husband's birthday.  By March I can breathe again.  So saving will really have to wait until March at least in a big way.  For now it is enough that I can buy our groceries, pay my credit card (don't judge me here, I always put at least $100), and follow the 52 Week Money Challenge.  Which brings me to my bite-sized goals.

FINANCES

1 - Track my spending 
I am not a big fan of this, but it does work.  I plan on writing down EVERY last time that I spend.

2 - 52 Week Money Challenge
I will be following the 52 week money challenge where I put aside a weekly amount of money starting with $1 for week one, $2 for week two and so on.  Yes this is a small way of saving, but I haven't really been disciplined so this will have to do.  I admire those people who can save well and make their money work for them.  I hope that this will be my first step to getting there.

3 - Change in Food Spending
First, discontinue frozen food purchases that go beyond veggies (I find GREAT deals on these), frozen ravioli (I cannot make them as good as the ones I purchase at Fry's for a great price by the way) and my husband's TV dinners for his work lunch (still cheaper than him buying lunch out.  This is more of a LONG term goal.  There are many items that I can make on my own without buying their frozen counterparts.  This will free up my freezer space for taking advantage of great meat department sales (as I do not have a separate freezer) and hopefully save us more money.  The first step is to make a list of what I do buy and find recipes for those items instead. 

4 - No New Clothes 
I should clarify that this is mainly for me.  I really do not buy new clothes.  I buy thrift store clothes (well except for bras, socks and underwear), and I find great items and great prices, BUT I am currently wildly overweight for my frame at 170 (see weight/fitness) and until I get that in control, I am not buying anything new.  I have plenty of clothes now and other than a much needed pair of running shoes (which my son is splitting with me as a Christmas gift), I will wait until I whittle my figure down into the sizes that I still have (in boxes) waiting for me.  

5 - Read Financial Books
My first is Dave Ramsey's The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness
I have to admit, I am probably dreading this the most.  No offense to Mr. Ramsey.  I know this will help.  I'm just scared.  I thought this would be a good way to start though and I will pick future books when I am finished.  I have no timeline for this.  I just plan on reading it a bite at a time.  

So here is where I stand now.  Finances are very important and I plan to revisit these goals often to see how things are going.  

Do you have any changes in mind for your own financial goals?  Has anything special helped you stay on track?