Mid Year check-in and sales
It’s already July, officially six-months into the New Years intentions I outlined in my January post. Be sure to check that post out if you haven’t already, but here’s a quick run down:
- Read More/Scroll Less
- Low Buy/Live Below My Means
- Incorporate a new recipe into dinner rotation
- Stay connected to friends
Read More
Admittedly, I hit a bit of lull with my reading in May and June. To date, I’ve read 15 books, averaging about 2 books a month, which is not bad considering I read 21 books all of last year. My reading should pick up since several new releases are now available through my local library so I’m now reading three books. Shout out to local libraries.
Unfortunately, I continue to get sucked into social media, mainly YouTube. I will give myself some grace, since most of my social media diet has consisted of content focused on book recommendations, cooking, meal planning, budgeting and channels that promote small living/underconsumption. More importantly, I think I’ve made progress on how I utilize social media. The old me would open up Instagram and blindly follow my feed or I would let myself go down a YouTube rabbit hole based on the recommendations on the home page. And I still do find myself going down some rabbit holes (mostly old Prince concerts and interviews), I find that I’m a bit more intentional when using social media and my views are more targeted to specific content. Am I fooling myself thinking I’m more in control of my media diet rather than following an algorithm? Maybe. It’s definitely a work in progress.
Low Buy/Living Below My Means
As mentioned in my January post, this is low buy year and my spending habits have changed dramatically. I’ve only purchased apparel or accessories that replaced items that no longer fit and only if they were key to my wardrobe. I used proceeds from selling on other items to subsidize the costs, and most items I replaced were purchased second-hand. However, groceries and an unexpected home repair have made spending below my set budget a challenge, so I’ll continue to look for ways to reduce spending overall. This is also a work in progress.
Stay Connected with Friends
This has been one of the most rewarding of the goals I made for myself this year. A standing day to go for a walk, a monthly lunch with friends, has helped me to stay sane and grounded. I highly recommend scheduling standing times to meet. Even if you have to skip an occurrence now and then, or some folks can make each occasion, you’ll more likely to meet just by having something on the “books.”
New Recipe
I’ve adapted this recipe from Brian Lagerstrom @BrianLagerstrom. This recipe works for me because it’s fairly inexpensive, easy to throw together and pretty tasty. I substitute ground turkey for the ground beef since I tend to have ground turkey on hand. I may swap out or add other veggies like carrots or zucchini, depending on what I have in the frig. I’ve also used to make lettuce wraps, so it’s also pretty versatile.
Mid Year Sales
Mid-year sales are already in full swing and if you haven’t already partaken, my advice is to DON’T! Stay away! Hold on to your coin! Maybe a little dramatic and who am I tell you what do with you money. And if you’ve been holding off on purchasing something specific or something is on your wish list that is now on sale, then it makes sense to purchase on sale, so go for it! But from personal experience, the old me would have used this sales season as an excuse to browse retail websites just to see what’s on sale. This is a recipe for budgeting disaster. Needless to say, I’ll refrain from the July sales and will take stock of and appreciate what I own.
Did you set any goals in January and if so , how are things going so far at the mid-year point? Are you taking advantage of the sales season? No shade if you do, maybe a little, but comment down below nevertheless. And do share any recipe ideas, book recs or budgeting tips. We’d love to hear about it!
Take care,
F&F
