LOOKING BACK
Thirty-Day Shred: In May, I pledged to complete the 30-Day Shred challenge. And I did complete it, which is a miracle in itself. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t fun most days. But I’m so proud that I committed to this and completed this challenge. Every, single day was a tough, intense workout and while I didn’t lose as much weight as I hoped to, it was great to have 30 days of continuous exercise.
Quiet Time: This was a total fail. While I did manage to have my quiet time during my media fast, it didn’t happen at all in May and last week was a total fail as well. But one of these days, it’s going to sink in. Until then, this is my goal.
Cut down on little expenses: Uh. Well. Fail? During my media fast, I sat down and went through both my mom’s and my bank statements for the last 6 weeks. I separated everything into categories to see how much we were spending. And it was a little sickening. Since money issues are still a problem for us, I plan on blogging about them more regularly. We have to become more in control of our finances, because the fact that we’re struggling is just utterly ridiculous.
THIS JUNE, I WILL…
Become a better tracker. I have noticed that those weeks when I track my food effectively and set out an exercise plan, I do better. I feel better. Yet I’ve been lax on these two areas for the past two weeks. (Although I’ve still managed to lose weight, interestingly enough.) I bought a notebook to write down my goals for the week, track my food and exercise, and talk about how I’m feeling overall. I’m hoping by being more anal about what I am eating and the way I feel when I exercise, I can learn better eating habits and find this healthy lifestyle a little easier to handle.
Get our grocery bill under control. When I figured out where we were spending our money, this is what was the most out of control. Mom and I fell into the bad pattern of going to the store of a few times a week and buying things for a few days. You definitely spend twice as much this way. I want to start shopping smarter, only going to the grocery store once a week, and using coupons more effectively.
Commit to quiet time. I am determined to find time every day to be with God. I know I say this every month but after my media fast, I realized just how much I need and crave this time. I need to read my Bible more, pray more, and journal more. I’m going to find time to do this every day.
*Inspired by Kyla.
I love that you're tracking your goals and continually setting new ones – I have no doubt you'll accomplish everything you set out to do. And I will be calling on you on Thursday when I post my list to hold me to it 🙂
Great post and definitely great ideas to reign some things in. Quiet time is so, so important. If I didn't have that, I am fairly certain I would go crazy.
good luck with your new goals! I, too, need to spend less time at the grocery store. I have a problem, because I have a grocery store right across the street and a Walgreen's next door to my apt. I prob go to the walgreen's more than the grocery store. It's just too darn accessible, haha. Hope you're enjoying your summer. 🙂 LOVE the new hair.
I wish you luck with your goals for this month! After I got married, SO much changed about my habits, and now, I'm obsessed with coupons and planning out my meals. (I got a meal planner notepad at Michael's for $1, and it's the best thing ever.)
You're so right that spending on food can get out of control. Once I started tracking our monthly spending, I realized that we were spending just as much on eating out a few times a month as we were on our entire grocery bill for the month, which is ridiculous. When we first got married, I wasn't planning out my meals, so I either went to the store A LOT during the week or we ate out because we didn't know what to eat. Now, I usually do a bigger shopping twice a month, with a few smaller ones in between for fresh foods. Having my meals planned out has lowered the amount that we eat out. And I'm always clipping coupons. I got so excited the other day when I did a big shopping, because I saved $16 (which was 15% off my entire grocery bill) with coupons! 🙂 I hope that this month you can find a routine that works well for you and your mom to help save some money.
Awesome on completing the 30 day Shred challenge! Too bad we don't live close to each other so we can become work out buddies!
My husband and I've actually cut back on our budget for groceries but unfortunately that went out of wack this month because of the vacation we took. Getting back on track now anyways. It's possible and you can do it too! We're the same way about going to the grocery store more than once a week, I swear it's because I lose my mind and forget things sometimes. I'm jealous of those who remembers everything they need to get and already have 10+ meal suggestions at home.
Love this. And I can't believe you finished The Shred!!!
Okay, I'm inspired now…
The Shred IS tough! My mom and I have been doing it on and off for the past year. It's a great workout though!
Great job on 30 day shred! Ugh, when you get your grocery bill figured out, can you help Matt? He refuses to shop with a list, therefore, when he comes home from the grocery store, he's spent $60 on random food items like olives, stuffing and ice cream…maybe he's pregnant!?!
You look so cute in that picture!
I can't believe you did 30 Day Shred for 30 days! I can only do it a few days at a time before I get bored and worn out. Rock it, girl.
I'm with you on grocery shopping, Dustin and I do the same thing. It's really gross how much we spend on food. We're working at eating absolutely EVERYTHING we have in the apartment and then going grocery shopping and just having that be our ONE big shopping trip. I hope it works!
Good luck with June. I'm struggling with quiet time too.
Good luck with these June goals. I totally know what you mean about the whole spending way too much on groceries, especially when you go as needed, instead of a set time of the week. I also need to become a better tracker.. I get so uninterested in things after a bit of time and I end up totally neglecting to record things I need to.
I've found that just setting aside 15 minutes of my day to read my bible works for me. I do it after I get out of the shower every morning. It helps me prepare my mind for the day before I get my physical appearance ready.
You can do it!
I so need to follow you on the cutting back on spending too much on groceries: I try to do it once a fortnight but the thought of breaking my back with bags and my granny trolley makes me think the corner shop is more worth it. My wallet disagrees totally, and I should listen to it more 🙂
I WISH we had the whole coupons thing here! I remember when I was young in England we had them, but I was so embarrassed to go shopping with my parents when they would hand over a wad of them. Now, I would jump at the chance to clip them out! Does it work over there that you can use the coupon as long as the store stocks that item regardless of whether you buy it or do you have to buy that item to get the reduction?
Aaaanyway, good luck with your month's goals!!