Budgeting, Life, & Wine

Getting all my ducks in a row for the New Year

Every year on my anniversary we always choose a bottle of wine to celebrate with. This year we choose 2017 red wine.

Starting out my plant family.

Got a surprise this afternoon two new baby goats! 🐐🐐🐐
White one is a sweet little girl
The black one is a shy little boy
Mama is Harriet her second set of twins, the trend continues of white girls and black boys.

DIY time!!
I am a bug fan of DIY projects if you have the time or skill to do something. My hubby tends to go a bit over board with some things...but I don't mind.
I had been wanting a raised garden bed for a couple years and we finally did it.
After some time searching for kits he realized they just weren't up to par with his standards and wanted something to last.
So he found used highway gaurdrails and we made this beast. It took a half a day to go pick of the gaurdrails and another half a day to build and assemble.
We have probably about $250 in this including the garden soil in bulk to fill it up. Now we wait till we enjoy the fruits of our labor.

The Credit Card Question: Yes or No?

We utilize Credit Cards every month, but we make sure we can pay them off every month. Not caring a balance to me is the key to managing Credit Cards. Therefore we don't make purchases that we can't afford.
Here are some of The Do's and Don'ts' I follow:

DO Weekly Track what you spend on our Credit cards.
DO Budget out what you anticipate you will spend and keep track of it.
DO have some store specific cards and while I don't endorse any one to have a store specific card some times it works out well. Example: We have a card that we use specifically for Farm/ Farm Animals items. It helps us to keep track of what we spend on that for Tax purposes.
DON'T have to many store specific cards especially for stores you don't shop at often.
DON'T have to many cards if you can't handle paying them off each month
DO make sure you are utilizing the best Perks: Some cards offer cash back other points. Pick the one the is best for you.
DO pay off your balance every month...the interest rates will kill you if you don't

Do keep it simple
Don't try and do to much all at once. If you have never meal planned before don't try and do to much.
Do write out the meals your family likes. (Keep the list simple and break it down to what is quick vs long.
Do eat your left overs (by freezing or keep in the fridge to use for lunch)
Don't just shop what's on sale unless you cook with it regularly or it will go to waste
Do simplify your grocery shopping.

My thoughts extra thoughts:

The benefits of keeping a simple Meal Plan.
I am not telling you to make a comprehensive meal plan every single week, I don't even do that. I don't have the time. I am giving myself permission to not try and start making a bunch of new things. We have stuck to what we know and love. WE don't mind eating a lot of the same things.
Our Favorite meal is Nachos and Wine.
Although I will admit that we have started to Grill more now that we have a patio and the weather is more cooperative which that has added a few more things to our meals.
But over all keep it simple especially if this is just not the season for you to want to devote the time to learning more new fancy things to cook.

By keeping a simpler meal plan it has saved me a ton of time and money. It keeps me in budget for grocery shopping and I don't make near as many incidental stops to the grocery store for items I need for a meal. I plan ahead with what time I know I will have during the week and cook accordingly.
Also another thing I do is store all of our left overs in the freezer. There is only two of us so we always have left overs to me it makes no difference on time cooking for 2 as it does for 6-8. So always have a freezer stocked full of yummy left overs to choose from on days we just don't have the time to cook fresh. Most items freeze well after cooking and nothing goes to waste.

Weekend is for fun and wine. Did some gardening today... that's an avocado tree I am so hopeful it does well.

At first glance this picture might just look like a few jars of Salsa, nothing special about it. While I am not an extremely sentimental person, I do get sentimental about some things, recently this struck me. My dad growing up always made Salsa its one of the things I remember most about my childhood, he still makes it today (the red jar). His was mostly home grown vegetables, tomatoes, onions, peppers (so many varieties), cilantro, etc. Gardening was a big part of my life growing up as well.
Flash forward to today, a few months back I decided to try making some Tomatillo Salsa My husband's favorite and it turned out delicious. Since then I have made it monthly, now that Spring is here I want to not only make home made salsa but grown as much of the items I need for it.
This is like the next step to being more mindful of my own carbon foot print, and fresh home grown vegetables really hit differently.
I am not telling anyone to go out and start a garden full swing but try your hand at it, whether you live in an apartment and don't have a lot of space do a small herb garden or find things that do well it pots. Taking the time to use your resource wisely helps.

I know this post doesn't appear to be about budgeting and its not about wine. But different aspect of our life affect our budgets, we can always make small choices that will have a big impact.


(https://keep.google.com/u/0/ /TipTuesday) (https://keep.google.com/u/0/ /MoneyMonday)

Tip #7 Needs Vs Wants

What are your basic needs vs wants

Are you trying to Keep up with the Kardashians? Is it really sustainable?
1 They literally are Millionaires...unless you are also a millionaire you can't keep up with them. You will drive yourself into debt just trying
2 Looking like you have a million bucks and actually having a million bucks are two different things

We all have basic needs and we also Have WANTS.
There is nothing wrong with having WANTS.
HOWEVER, trying to keep up with a lifestyle that you can't afford will only hurt future self.
I am not going to tell you what your needs and wants are. Everyone has to evaluate that for themselves. I Just where to remind you that what you do today financially will impact you in the future. Do your future self a favor and take the time to be mindful now and make wise choices. We can justify anything as a need if you want it bad enough. Always remember our everyday choices affect our future, whether it be physically, emotionally, socially, or even Financially.

Be Mindful

A little German beer for the weekend.

Spring Cleaning & Setting Goals

With only a week left in April I am already looking to the future of May and what that Month Might Bring. I already have my budget outline done and I know what most things are going to be. There are always unexpected things but that is life.

My biggest Goal for next month is helping my husband close out tabs (Project Tabs) and getting some more things cleaned and organized for the summer months. There is always so many things going on, left over items that didn't get finished in the fall and also so many new things that just need to be closed out.
I like for Spring to by my season of finishing things before new things are started. I know for many Spring is the season of New things. I like to use this season to clean and get ready for things.
Time to check in with my Spring To Do List.

In Honor of Earth Day I decided to share some of my favor sustainable products From Norwex. I honestly have not always been very conscious about my own personnel consumerism but over the last year I have become more mindful of what I buy and the need to use sustainable products where I can. So here is my list of top 10 favorite Norwex products.

If anyone is interested I can host an Online Party so you can find out more about Norwex. If no one is just remember we only have one Earth and we are suppose to take care of it, its our Job.

1. Reusable makeup wipe - These are amazing I haven't bought make up wipes in 6+ months. They work with just water and they get off everything.
2. Produce bags- These save so much plastic at the grocery store its amazing
3. Metal straws- I no longer have to worry about whether or not I get one while eating out
4. Enviro Cloth - This has replaced my single use lysol wipes. Its self purifying and all you need is water
5. Dust Mitt- This has replaced my swifter mini duster things and I only clean it when its gets really dirty.
6. Reusable swifter wet/dry mop: This system has saved me so much time and money. It doesn't take me near as long to sweep and mop my entire house.
7. Reusable silicon food storage containers & lids: I pack my lunch for work so having something to re-use is a must
8. New Eco Utensiles: I love these they replaced some old metal ones i used.
9. Reusable soap dispenser: These ones are glass, so they are heavy duty and beautiful in both my bathroom and kitchen.
10. Napkins
11. *Bonus* Dryer Balls (They replace dryer sheets)

I am a big fan of List. I like to see what I need to accomplish, and I like the feeling you get when you can cross something off a list. Please tell me I am not the only one who thinks its super satisfying. (Tip: Sometimes I write things down that I have already done just to cross it off)
Here is a List of my top 5 reason why I Like List:
1. I no longer need spend my mental energy remembering what needs to be done. (This is HUGE you can write it down and not think about until you have the time or energy to do the thing)
2. It keeps what needs to be done organized. (Nothing is more frustrating then having lots to do but not knowing what to do or when to do it)
3. If we have Multiply Projects going on (We all have 5 things going at once) it keeps us on Track to finish them
4. When I have 5-10-15 or more minutes I can easily use that time effectively to get something done or crossed off the List
5. Its extremely satisfying seeing a list of things you have accomplished especially if you still have a lot left to do.

Weekend vibes

LOL 😆 that is definitely part of my retirement plan!

5 things...

On my budget (that are either unique to us or just what we are passionate about)
1. Wine...it's a passion.
2. Projects: it's something my husband loves
3. Tools see above
4. Farm equipment...we live in the country
5. Animal expenses : country Life

Vs 5 things I try and avoid

1. Membership (Although we do have Amazon Prime) we avoid others like Gym and auto pay stuff that you forget about.
2. Bottled water (we use refillable water bottle)
3. HOA (We live in the country)
4. Collectables or Knickkanks: while we do have some I try and keep it to a minimum
5. The latest and greatest anything From Kitchen appliances to tech. We try and take our time and do research before we jump on the band wagons!

During the past few months I have recently discovered Minimalism. I have honestly always been a pseudo Minimalist but now I actually have a word for it.
I don't enjoy my house being cluttered and disorganized.
I recently found .minimal.mom (Dawn Madsen) she is amazing and going back and looking at her journey of Minimalism has been inspiring for me, having words to better describe what I was wanting to do.
So this is my beginning Journey of Minimalism and seeing what things I can practically implement with out a huge disruption to my life.
5 things I have learned so far:

1. Viewing everything in my home as INVENTORY, that I/we (My husband) have to manage. It has changed my perspective of what I bring into my home.
2. Decluttering the items I already own.
3. Buy items to organize what I own after decluttering
4. Projects that I take on, having a better gauge as to is this worth my time, money, or energy
5. Life as a Minimalist doesn't mean I don't have stuff, it means I am more thoughtful about the items (inventory) I buy and bring into my home.

This little guy was born yesterday in the middle of snow storm! Can't believe it. But he is happy and healthy!

Snow day! We don't get these often but here we are.

Not usually a poster of food but this Viral Feta pasta is amazing. Also paired it with Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon.

Drake just had to get out of the office for a bit.
What is a wine suggestion you have for us? Comment below or DM me with suggestions and I will work on some wine reviews.

Budget tip: #6 Planning for the Year

While many people would say you can't account for everything that will come up you can do your best to plan.
Especially for expenses that are recurring.
Like: Rent or mortgage payment
Basic Utilities (electricity, Water & Sewer, natural gas, phone, internet & etc.)
Car loans, student loans
Some of those are fixed amount or they are within a certain range, so prepare for the worst so you aren caught off guard on these.
Doing this overview of your yearly finances can help keep you on track of you are working to pay off debt or save for a big purchase.
It's never too late to start planning for the future.

First off, I am by no means an expert when it comes to time management. There are days that I am the biggest time waster out there. Netflix and chill, anyone?

Whether your are married, single, dating, a teenager, or young child, everyone can benefit from knowing how they spend there time.

Second, is to NEVER compare what you do with your time to what someone else does with thiers, ESPECIALLY CELEBRITIES of any kind!

Third, just like you would budget your money your time is no different. While we all have the same 24 hours in a day we all have different priorities and responsibilities; therefore it might benefit you to make a list of the most important things you have to spend your time on like making a living, taking care of children &/or pets, and taking care of where you live.

Those are things that no matter who you are you must do.

Fourth, self reflection.

Ask yourself: Where else do I spend my time? Do I spend too much time on one of the necessary things so that I am neglecting other things? Do I have a hobby I spend all my free time on? Do I have free time? (I know many of your busy mom's will be like free time what's that's?)

You might be asking yourself how do I budget my time? I recently came across a system of using blocks of time. This video gave me a different perspective on time management.
Go watch the video if you are interested.
https://youtu.be/2BKuSlstIBM

Finally, I can't tell you how you should spend your time, everyone is accountable to themselves for that.
Just be mindful that everyday is only 24 hours and make the most of it.

Budget tip #4
If you have animals or plan on getting animals be sure to budget for the cost of them.
We have farm animals goats and ducks.
Both are fairly low maintenance as far as most things go. However we still have expense that go with especially feed in the winter time.
Be sure if you get a pet especially for your kids that everyone involved understand the cost. Don't hide the cost from your kids even if they are little, they need to understand the value of hard work and how to spend money wisely.

Any other suggestions along this topic?

First wine post!
Our wine of choice this evening Cabernet Sauvignon Decoy by Duckhorn.
This is one of our semi-splurge wines we drink.
Cabernet are know for there fully body and tannin taste. This one does not disappoint.
We often pair this with pasta so tonight we are having Chicken parmesan (while having a full boded wine with chicken is average taste the rich tomato sauce helps to add to the flavor) and cheese stuffed tortellinis.

First wine post!
Our wine of choice this evening Cabernet Sauvignon Decoy by Duckhorn.
This is one of our semi-splurge wines we drink.
Cabernet are know for there fully body and tannin taste. This one does not disappoint.
We often pair this with pasta so tonight we are having Chicken parmesan (while having a full boded wine with chicken is average taste the rich tomato sauce helps to add to the flavor) and cheese stuffed tortellinis.