Lighter Load

Since my last post, trying to maintain the original limits I outlined continues to be a struggle but I am more in sync with them than I was in March. In fact, I am only one month away from paying off a second credit card so I must be doing fairly well. But as I write about that accomplishment, I know I don't want to make this year long experiment solely about money. I am focused on improving the quality of how I spend my time and energy as well.

My energy and time consumption have improved somewhat circumstantially now that I am racing my bicycle and am training more than I have in past years. I simply don't have the time to watch all the useless TV that I once had. Don't get me wrong, I still make time to watch some very bad TV but I have given up Judge Judy; well all the judge shows, most episodes of Hoarders, tosh.o, Celebrity Rehab, just to name a few. However, I might have to add My Strange Addiction to the list of must sees! I still like to watch American Idol, Ghost Hunters and Deadliest Catch, mainly because Mike and I somehow got hooked on these and enjoy watching them together. This is not quality TV but mindless entertainment after a long hard day. We need that.

After four months into this, I am much more selective with what I watch and when. Same goes for what I choose to buy. I haven't bought much other than food, household supplies and toiletries. Although, I did have to buy some bicycling gear but I used a gift certificate and money I had already saved. Food is our biggest expense and I have a hard time staying on my grocery budget of $125.00 every 2 weeks. I think I need to increase this to $140.00 since that seems to be what I spend despite careful consuming with sales, using coupons and making lists. Maybe I need to watch that new show about super coupon users!

I have sold some stuff on Craig's list which was very exciting for some reason. I loved doing that. I am using that money for the bike races registration fees. It feels great to get rid of some things that I don't use and get a little money in return. Since we aren't watching much TV, I cut back on our Netflix and paid TV channels. I thought I couldn't give up HBO but really I don't miss it st all.

It has been harder to completely cut out eating out to once a month, mainly due to having so many business meetings that involve meals. Initially, I was not eating during them but it became very difficult to manage this so I gave myself permission to eat at every other meeting. It isn't perfect but does cut down on the spending and eating out. So many of our family functions also center on eating out; birthdays, holidays and general get togethers. I haven't figured out how to handle that well. We don't eat at all of them but it does feel strange when we don't. Any ideas?

So overall I am a little lighter, with less stuff, less mindless TV, less junk food and less debt. I must admit the lighter load does feel good.