March 30, 2012

You Win Some, You Lose Some

If my life were made into a movie, hands down, this would be the tagline. And I like it. So simple, yet so true. Being the end of March, I feel obligated to report my budgeting. And yes, I realize it will probably bore most of you, but then again, thankfully you are not obligated to read it. :)

I've hit the point where couponing has become a game. Yes, it takes time. Yes, it can be stressful. But in the end, when I walk out of a store with a bag full of goodies that I literally payed pennies for, it's all worth it. The first two pictures below are examples of that. I've been doing awesome in grocery shopping too. My goal was $400 for the month and in March I spend $396. That's right, baby. I DID IT. The money we spent eating out was down to $150. ($30 less than last month.) I meticulously tracked where all our money went, had a friend help me improve my budgeting sheet even more, and when it all comes down to it, I realized I'm really not that bad with money after all. The problem is, there seems to be some unwritten law of the universe that states: If ever a person earns slightly more money than usual, some unanticipated expense must take place shortly thereafter to compensate for the increase in income.

Last month it was $150 for renter's insurance.
This month it was $700 in medical bills.
Next month something will probably go wrong with the car... (knock on wood.)
You win some, you lose some.


Storage bins. My new obsession. The bathroom drawers and cupboards were driving me wild, so this past week I took on, and completed the task of really organizing them. I pulled everything out, then divided it all into bags so I would know how many bins to buy. (At this point I got side tracked for a few days so all those bags were thrown back under the sink, making it exponentially hard to find anything.) Now that it's all finished, I find myself opening the cupboards to stare at the beautiful bins. That's not too weird... right?




Last year I was able to have a big beautiful garden, on an empty lot in the neighborhood (along with 24 other families). A while ago, the owner of the lot was informed that a neighbor was unhappy with the "unsightly nature of the garden" in previous years. I called up this neighbor (since I was organizing the garden this year.) Listened to her rant about how horrible the garden is, and how much she'd prefer a lot full of weeds. I'm simply amazed by some people. Since the owner doesn't want to upset the neighbors, the lot is now unavailable and I will be trying my hand at container gardening. And there you have it folks, you win some, you lose some.

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8 comments:

Jamie Blake said...

Looks awesome! I get such pleasure out of organizing as well, and after reading this post, I think I ought to tackle our bathroom cupboards. Perhaps I ought to coupon too!

The Dayleys said...

Good job on your budgeting. Mitch thinks it would be fun to set a budget and see how we do this month.... I love how beautiful your bins look under your sink. I'm getting a similar urge to do something like that. The mess of certain drawers of mine drive me bonkers. What a bummer about your neighborhood garden! Some people amaze me {not always in a good way}. Best of luck with container gardening! If you need any help please come by the garden center :) It's a beautiful sight this time of year.

Danielle said...

Great job on the budget! If anyone can figure this stuff out, you can.

Love the organization. When I clean the fridge, each time I pass by I open it to admire it. ;)

Too bad about the garden. Yes, you can do a lot with container gardens. I had a friend who had 200 pots planted one year. Amazing.

Have you tried essential oils to help Scott? We hosted a class last week and they mention some oils to help with conditions like Scotts. Would you like more info?

You are amazing. Thanks for sharing your blog.

Rachel E. Bytheway said...

Niiiice on the budget!!

You should probably make that tagline, "You Winn Some, You Lose Some." Super clever, right?

You are the second person I have ever met that loves clear storage containers as much as I do. But probably the first person I have met that also opens the cupboards just to stare at it! Oh dear.... It looks totally great! I was staring at the ones in the hall all Saturday!

Rachel E. Bytheway said...

PS. if you want more garden space, you should just come garden in my back yard with me this spring.

Meg + Taylor said...

I LOVE organizing things in bins! I get to the point that if it doesn't fit in a bin I don't keep it! And congrats on the budget. You've reminded me that I need to redo my budget and stay on track! Thanks Becca :)

The Winns said...

Danielle - Wow! 200 pots! That's awesome! Yes, I would love more info about the oils, I remember a while ago someone started talking to Scott about them and he was really interested.

Rachel - Oh my heavens. I can see it now. By the time we are old ladies both our houses will just be exploding with storage bins. Beautiful, beautiful bins.

Meg - I threw out so much that I couldn't get to fit in the bins! Haha!

The Winns said...

Danielle - Wow! 200 pots! That's awesome! Yes, I would love more info about the oils, I remember a while ago someone started talking to Scott about them and he was really interested.

Rachel - Oh my heavens. I can see it now. By the time we are old ladies both our houses will just be exploding with storage bins. Beautiful, beautiful bins.

Meg - I threw out so much that I couldn't get to fit in the bins! Haha!

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