Well, January has come and gone and it's time to take stock of the Betterments. I can't say that I was 100% successful in obtaining all of them, but I did my best and here's where I stand as we head into February. Truth be told, I've got two windows open, one with the original blog and one with this new entry so that I can remember what my Betterments actually were...hahaha! Not to say that I don't remember what they were, but nine Betterments is a lot to keep track of, even for me. So here goes.
1. Reduce Spending: So this one was tough, given that in January I went to both Key West and Hawaii, both trips planned prior to the enactment of the Betterments. However, and I say this with some degree of confidence, I spent way less on both of those trips than I previously would have. I even added some of my expenditures from Key West and Hawaii to my expenditures log, and even with those expenses, I came up with about $305 of "incidental" expenses that were deemed unnecessary. For me, that's huge, because if there's one thing that I'm really good at, it's spending money on things I want but don't necessarily need. So what were my incidental expenditures? Well, I found two pairs of running shoes that I like on sale for $21.00 each...these shoes normally retail at $135 a pair and they are being discontinued, so I thought that was a legitimate expense, but not a necessary expense, so onto the list they went. I bought a souvenir t-shirt in Key West, and if there's anyone who does not need another t-shirt, it's me. I bought some random things at Target, I bought a disgusting hot chocolate up at Snowbowl, I ordered chicken tenders and fries at the bowling alley when I could have just eaten prior to going out, I bought some hand soap that was a discontinued winter scent because I love it so much, and there were a couple Starbucks purchases in there. I know it sounds nitpicky, and it could be argued that these expenses are pretty marginal, really, but it's the marginal expenses that nickel-and-dime people to death. I didn't have three $100 unnecessary expenditures, I had twelve unnecessary expenditures that ranged in price from $1.50 to $105.00. The whole point of keeping track of these expenditures, both big and small, is to remind myself to start spending differently, to start spending smartly, to get into my head what is necessary, and what is not.
2. Increase Savings/Start Investing: I knocked it out of the park on this one. While I didn't add to my investments, I did manage to squirrel away $2,000.00 into my savings account in the month of January. That's huge for me, as in previous months I was putting away at most, $500.00 a month, which isn't nothing, but by reducing my incidental expenditures, I was able to put a significant amount of money away for that down payment on a house that I'm going to be making in a few months. Or, you know, spending $700 to have my dog's teeth cleaned next month (is that an unnecessary incidental expenditure??).
3. Sell the Van: This is a work in progress. We've had a few bites and have a very interested party coming to look at it this weekend. Fingers crossed!
4. Commit to a Low-Carb Diet: Given the aforementioned trips from above, this one has been a bit of a struggle, but diet be damned if I thought I was going to go all the way to Key West and deny myself conch fritters, ice cream cones, and margaritas. While I might be up a couple pounds after these two trips, and I can't rationalize away the fact that I was pretty active on these trips while simultaneously shoving my face with all kinds of deliciousness, my dietary choices have been on my mind and truth be told, they have been driving some of the choices that I make when it comes to food. When I'm at work, I'm rock solid. I have all manner of little containers of meat and cheese, a low-carb entree of some description, bell pepper slices, apples with peanut butter, cherry tomatoes, and hard-boiled eggs. I don't vary too much from these particular foods as they satisfy my hunger cravings at night and don't leave me feeling nauseated, which is the case with a lot of foods that I used to gravitate towards in the middle of the night (ahem, chicken fingers in the cafeteria...I'm talking about you!). At the end of the day, I want to eat better, and I'm making an honest effort to do so, but I really love food, and when I'm traveling, part of the experience is trying out the local cuisine. So while I don't actually feel bad about the conch fritters, the ice cream cones, the poke bowl, or the margaritas, I'm making a point to not indulge too frequently in those things.
5. Drink Less Coffee: Again, I did really well with this one. I've been drinking a lot of tea and I rarely, if ever, add any sweetener to it. If I do add sweetener, it's usually a small amount of locally sourced honey. I've actually been looking for tea that has licorice root in it, as licorice root has a naturally sweet taste without the added sugar. A side effect of not drinking coffee much anymore is that I've kind of lost my taste for it. The last few times I've had coffee I've been decidedly underwhelmed by it unless it has copious amounts of cream, sugar, and/or chocolate in it. I also noticed that it upsets my stomach more now than it used to. The important thing is that I don't miss the coffee, which is something that I was worried about when I decided to start cutting it out, so that's been refreshing.
6. Exercise More: Also a work in progress. I've been pretty good about getting to the gym on the days that I'm available to do so, but two trips and night shift were some pretty significant barriers to this. I have a lot of workout equipment at home as far as weights and such, but I hate working out at home. We don't have an inspiring place in our home to workout, and we have two very curious dogs who like to investigate what I'm doing whilst in the middle of exercising, particularly if I'm on the floor for any reason. I had briefly thought about buying some of that gym mat stuff and making a little corner of the garage into a workout space, but there just isn't room, and who wants to work out in a garage anyway? Excuses, excuses...going for a run requires zero equipment...I keep telling myself that and still I don’t run. One change I'm making going forward is loosely scheduling my work shifts around my gym schedule, since I'm really good about going to classes when I'm not working. Given that I don't like to work 3 shifts in a row anymore, breaking them up in the interest of working out is a nice compromise.
7. Start My Own IVs at the Hospital: Crazy as it sounds, I haven't actually had a whole lot of opportunity for this. The last few patients I've had who needed new IV's requested that the vascular access team do it, rather than let me try. So yeah...not much to be done about that, but I'm still committed to starting IVs when I can and when the patient is willing.
8. Start Bike Commuting: Ha...haven't even started this yet. But I think about it...that counts, right? I just listed two of my bikes for sale on Craigslist this afternoon, so hopefully I'll get some bites and can put that money towards a nice commuter bike. It's still too cold out for my taste, even though it's unseasonably warm here in Flagstaff...hahaha!
9. Resume Writing in my Gratitude Journal: I've been really good about this, and I've been enjoying spending a few minutes each day to think about the things I'm grateful for, the positive energy I can manifest throughout my day, and thinking back on the things that went well that day. It's funny how just putting a positive spin on your thinking can improve your outlook exponentially. I have The 5 Minute Journal and I really like it. Check it out if you're looking to add some positivity to your day. :)
So there it is. My Betterments, my successes, and my shortcomings laid bare for all to see. I hope that you have been having as much luck or more with your own personal Betterments for this year. :)
