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Saturday, July 23, 2016

Being Mindful



Hello there!

It has been quite a while since I've visited this blog. Life took over, first with a three week jury duty trial, Junior League end of the year planning, transitioning into a new role and then finally finishing the apartment! With all of these new wonderful changes in my life, one thing was definitely hurting. My bank accounts have taken a major hit.

My relationship was money has always been a good one. I've always saved my money, budgeted my monthly income, and prioritized spending. Ever since moving out on my own a few years ago, slowly but surely I've been getting less conscious about my spending. I got sloppy, spending more and saving less each month. Telling myself "I'm living in the moment!" Well, that high that comes with the swipe of the credit card, the new package in the mail, only lasts so long.

I started to realized my triggers. When I had a bad day at work I would stop at the mall, go to the happy hour (even though I have tons of wine at home), and shop the sales online. I would buy a new pair of jeans even though I had two unworn jeans sitting in my closet. I knew I needed to cut that habit and start practicing mindful spending.

While I know that I can't change habits that have formed over the years overnight, I can make a plan and try to be mindful. It will be hard because even this morning I stopped by Nordstrom to look at the sale currently going on this month. Yesterday, I stopped at the grocery store for a bottle of wine even though I have 3 perfectly good bottles at home. I buy a water bottle at yoga every single class. I pick up coffee on the way to work every morning, sometimes even two when I'm anticipating a long day. All these purchases add up quickly. Taking a hard look at my bank account showed how many dumb purchases I make daily. I decided it was time to change, but I need to do it slowly.

I noticed I was spending over $25 dollars a week on buying water bottles and extra coffee a day. Only because I was running late and couldn't refill my water bottle. Or I would leave my travel mug at work for a week so I would justify my extra coffee purchase. $25=$100 a month I could be saving by taking just a few extra minutes a day. That is $1200 dollars a year! When I spell it out it makes a HUGE difference. I think of all the things I could do with that money: add to my wedding fund, the extra trip we have always wanted to take, building our dream house fund....all that could be a reality if I just practice mindful spending.

So I'm starting this journey into mindful spending slow. I will break my coffee and bottled water habit and move the money saved each month into a savings account. I'm going to use this blog to try to be accountable in my new journey throughout the next year. Hopefully this small change can propel bigger changes!



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