Cutting Back.

Image.

I determined early in 2012 that I wanted to cut back and simplify how I spend my money. I decided it was time to revisit where my money was going and determine what, if anything, was going to waste.

Late in 2011 I cut my Internet at home because I realized that by the time I get home from an entire day at the office, I rarely want to sit on my laptop or ipad anyway. After I did this, my neighbor said I could have the password to his wireless and use it whenever I like. He works night shift so we're rarely home at the same time and I wouldn't be using it enough to slow him down anyway. I felt bad at first but he assured me that he paid for it anyway, he'd like it to be used as much as possible. Score one for me.

The best part about that has been that one of my closest college guy friends, Eric, lets me use his Netflix account. E has always looked out for me and for that I'm grateful. He sent me his log in a while back and said 'use it and abuse it'. I have loved having it...watching TV shows that no longer air on my ipad in the bathroom while I'm doing my hair and makeup in the morning is the absolute best!

Ok time to reel myself back in here. This post is supposed to be about my decision to cut back. So in January I decided it was time to cut the cable. I know some of you are feeling very upset at this idea but before you think I've let my budget run away with me...I stopped to pay attention to how much TV I was watching and over the course of a month I averaged about an hour a week. That hardly seemed worth $85 a month (over 1K per year). I didn't want to watch MORE TV just to get my money's worth either.

I kept it through the end of March since at the time I still had a roommate and I wanted to give her fair warning about my epiphany. I turned in my cable box March 23rd and wanted to wait at least a month to report back how I'm feeling (since I found out through twitter several of you were thinking about making the same cutback). Number of times in the last 5+ weeks that I have missed having cable: 1. There was one Sunday afternoon where I had the urge to watch a Lifetime Movie but realized I don't have Lifetime anymore.

One time in 5 weeks! This makes me wish I had either never gotten cable to begin with or gotten rid of it way before now. I feel more productive than ever. I'm crushing my reading goal which I recently raised from 50 books for the year to 60. Honestly, I'll probably even beat that. I feel really good and not like I'm missing out on anything at all.

You can watch most current shows online, if you want. Netflix is brilliant. And I do get a TV fix here and there while babysitting (when I'm getting paid to watch TV, instead of paying to not watch it at home). It's worked out really well for me!

I realize this isn't a cutback many of you would be willing to make and I certainly wouldn't push my ideas on anyone. I have plenty of guilty pleasures from laying out to skittles so I'm in no place to tell you that you shouldn't watch TV if that's your thing. What I realized, for myself, is that I wasn't really gaining anything positive from it and I could list at least 20 things I'd rather spend a grand on.

If you've been mulling over this idea and think you're in the same boat as me - then go for it! There are plenty of worthwhile things to spend that time doing. Such as, you ask? Well...

1. Facetime with friends

2. Workout

3. Read

4. DIY projects

5. Cleaning

6. Get outside

And I find that if you really want to spend a couple hours on the couch, you can always get Redbox for $1. Even if I did this every single Sunday I would save over $80 a month. That's my kind of math.

Love,
B

Haiti Recap - Part Three.

So, let's talk about the job.  We went to Haiti to build a church and in four days we did just that!  My job? Working a cement mixer...

 And this week really wouldn't have been a fraction as fun, entertaining, possible, or productive without this guy (Casey):

We made quite the cement mixing duo if I do say so myself (note: this must have been early in the day because I'm not covered yet).

It was hard, heavy, labor intensive work but we may have had the most fun of anyone on the project.  In fact, we're already working on our next week one trip with CWE...possibly to Togo (in West Africa) in January.  What can I say, we love to make cement?

This is the church on day one.

Here is the precious pastor with the church on the last day ( I took this before we'd actually finished).

Now, as I write this the week two team is hard at work roofing the building we put together. I can't wait to see it and hear their stories afterwards.  I honestly would have stayed the whole month and worked with every team if I could have.  I told my Dad the day I got back I would have gone on that trip over a week in Hawaii and I meant it.  This trip was unbelievable.

I started a catagory in my budget this week for our next trip.  Casey, AJ (pictured above), and I hope to go on the next one together as well.

I have a few more thoughts to share about the aftermath of my heart from the trip but I wanted to make sure I got some of the details of the trip down for you all first.  Stay tuned as I wade through all the emotions and find words to tell you all the Lord is doing in my heart through what I've seen and experienced.

Love,

B

Book Club Friday - Updates.

I've been working days ahead of posts in blog world for a few weeks now but I wanted to give you some reading updates. I've continued to FLY through books lately at a rather alarming pace, even for me. Good reads kept telling me I'm over 50% to my goal for the year so I finally upped my goal to 60 for the year. I like to feel like I'm winning. Anywho...

While in North Carolina with my sisters I read 'The Lucky One' by Nicholas Sparks. I use to read everything he wrote (similar to how I feel about James Patterson now). Then after a while it all started to sound the same to me, like a form letter. Tragic situation, plus lovebirds, topped off with a death, the end. But MK from Blonde Out Loud sent me this one and I couldn't wait to read it after several years off from Sparks world.

I wasn't totally in love with it, like many people BUT I did enjoy it and it made for a good vacation read. I read it without too much effort in 2 days. I was trying to get it done in time to leave it with my older sister, Rachel. I managed to do so and MK was gracious enough to not require I send her back the book. Rach is a much bigger Sparks fan than I, so she was thrilled! She got to take her name off the never ending wait list at the library and start reading.

Note: I plan to see this movie with Nichole as soon as I return from Haiti!

I've been trying to incorporate some classics into my reading over the past few years. I had the benefit of reading many of them growing up between the intense literature path I took in middle school and high school, followed my taking every possible lit class I could at Purdue while there. I'm still friends on facebook with my favorite lit professor from school ( I don't think she reads this but she's amazing).

Anywho, Tess of D'Urbervilles wasn't my favorite. It dragged a bit for me. Also the story was kind of a downer in general, which I knew going into it. Glad I read it so I could check it off the list but I would hesitate to recommend this one to you all.

One of my coworkers, Madison, who got me hooked on James Patterson recommended the Rizzoili and Isle's series to me. This is a TV show now but apparently the TV show is nothing like the book series. I haven't watched it, so I'm not sure what the show is like. But I reserved the first book from the library and it arrived right before I left for North Carolina. I took it with me since I planned to finish and leave the Lucky One and knew I'd want something to read on the way back.

I really enjoyed this book. I will say if you're not a fan of murder mysteries then this isn't going to be a series you'd enjoy but if you do, check out Gerritsen. I have a few books I need to tackle before I move to book two but I fully intend to read the whole series before it's all said and done. For this one since you may be unfamiliar I wanted to share the description from amazon:

He slips into homes at night and walks silently into bedrooms where women lie sleeping, about to awaken to a living nightmare. The precision of his methods suggests that he is a deranged man of medicine, prompting the Boston newspapers to dub him “The Surgeon.” Led by Detectives Thomas Moore and Jane Rizzoli, the cops must consult the victim of a nearly identical crime: Two years ago, Dr. Catherine Cordell fought back and filled an attacker before he could complete his assault. Now this new killer is re-creating, with chilling accuracy, the details of Cordell’s ordeal. With every new murder he seems to be taunting her, cutting ever closer, from her hospital to her home. And neither Moore nor Rizzoli can protect Cordell from a ruthless hunter who somehow understands—and savors—the secret fears of every woman he kills.

I know I've said this recently but if you're on Goodreads, find me. I've been loving seeing what everyone's reading and I've been adding many of your books to my lists!

Many more books to come soon!

Love,

B

Wish List: For the Home.

If you could see the amount of lists I've got going right now, your head would spin.  Mine sure is.  But this is the year of no excuses and the summer of whipping this house into shape.  And so, the lists will continue! Here's a few things on my wish list for my home over the next few months of budgeting, saving, and who knows - maybe getting gifts?

 I want this to organize my dirty laundry out by the washer and dryer.  I think this would be super handy and cut down on piles on the floor or baskets.  I love that it's on wheels. They sell them at Target for $29.  This is coming soon to a laundry area near me.

Obsessed with this plastic bag organizer.  I save my grocery bags and take them back to Publix to recycle them.  I use reusable bags sometimes but you still end up with these plastic shopping bags and I want somewhere to put them that gives them their own, organized space.  I love this thing. I found it on amazon for $15.  I haven't bought it yet but I'm pretty sure that will be coming soon as well.

My two big ticket items are....

 A red Kitchenaid mixer.  This has been on my dream list for a while now.  A sweet friend, Meagan, gave me the idea to get one from Overstock.com and so I'm stalking that site on the regular now, waiting for the best time to strike.

The second is a Bose sound system/iPod dock:

These aren't cheap but I think I would use this all the time on my living room, dining, room, kitchen floor.  My parents got one a few years back and they've love theirs!  I am now saving my credit card points to get a Best Buy gift card to get one of these for free (this could take a year, mind you).

A few things that are on this list that aren't pictures because they require actually picking a specific one out:

- Headboard for my guest bed
- Bedside table and lamp for guest bedroom
- Chaise lounge for reading corner
- Entertainment center
- Real bookshelves (I have cheap plasticy target ones now)
- Full length mirror for guest bedroom (I feel like every room should have one of these)

Looks like I won't be cutting back on those hours too soon, huh? ; ]

Love,
B

Operation Smile.

Since returning from Haiti I've been introduced to an organization called Operation Smile.  Operation Smile provides surgeries to children all the world in need of cleft lip, cleft palate, and other facial reconstructive surgeries.  More than ever after experiencing life in a third world country I recognize the need for medical missions.

From Operation Smile's website: On a typical international medical mission, 300-500 children receive full medical evaluations and 100-150 children are surgically treated. We also use the opportunity to train in-country medical professionals, based on the needs of their health care workers or the facility where the mission takes place.

Being fresh off the mission field myself I'm especially touched by their desire to train in-country medical professionals.  For most of us, our impact ends when we return home and go back to our day to day lives.  But when we take the opportunity to train leaders who will be there after we're gone, we have the chance to have a profound, long-lasting affect. 

Please take the time to visit their website, read the patient stories on their blog, and donate if you're able. Another way you can support them is through utilizing a great budget-friendly resource: Campus Book Rentals.  They're partnered up and donating over 1,000 cleft palate surgeries this year through Operation Smile.  Campus Book Rentals allows you to rent your text books instead of buying them.  I wish I'd known about this when I was in school, as I haven't reused used one single textbook since I graduated, this would have been perfect for me.

If you're still in school or headed back to school this is a great way to save money (and shelf space) while also partnering with a company that's purposing to do good worldwide.  I did a little research and I found a Sociology book (my major) on their site.  I could have rented this book for $17.35 instead of buying it for $95!  What's not to love about that?

Make sure you check out Operation Smile and for all my student readers, check out Campus Book Rentals for all your textbook needs!  They've agreed to give readers of blog a 5% discount you can take advantage of by using supersaver at checkout!

Love,
Becca

Detox Your Relationships.

I've been reading a Jillian Michael's book called 'Master your Metabolism'. I may or may not write more about that later. BUT in the midst of talking about healthy lifestyles she had a short blurb that I thought might be worth sharing...

From p.193 -

Detox your Circle of Friends.

We have specific neurons in our brains that make us automatically reflect the emotions of the people around us. Ask yourself: Who makes me feel bad about myself when I hang out with them? Who leaves me feeling drained? Take steps to minimize any time you spend with that person.

Hmm. I talk a lot on this blog about friendship because it's a top priority for me. But we've all had a few leeches in our friend groups. You know the type I'm talking about, they suck the life right out of you as well as the air from a room. I'm not talking about a friend who's going through a tough time, those are normal. I'm talking about the habitual life suckers that constantly leave you feeling down.

A guy friend of mine had one of these recently and he stopped by the other day to tell me about it. He said, 'I finally realized that by the time I finish talking to him, I feel depressed. He tells me how depressed and unhappy he is and I come home and start to feel the same way'. Ah ha! This is where Jillian has hit the nail on the head...you cannot stay in relationships that do this to you. Surround yourself (and by this I mean your close friends) with people who share similar values, morals, goals, and attitudes.

This post wouldn't be complete without also addressing the reverse. Make sure you're not this person! If you find yourself constantly complaining, whining, airing your dirty laundry, and dragging your friend group down, stop. It's ok to vent to your close friends but A. make sure they really are your close friends, not just anyone with ears and B. make sure that you're not sucking the life out of the people you love with your bad attitude. No one wants to be Debbie Downered every time they're around you.

Anyone feeling me on this one?

Love,

B

Haiti Recap - Part Two.

It has been a bittersweet return to the states for me.  After THE most incredible trip of  my life to date (and you know I've been on many) I was amazed that on Saturday I thought, 'I'd stay another week if I could'.  When you consider that we were without power for 2+ days, taking cold showers every day, and unable to flush our toilets for about half of the trip - this is big.

I thought and thought while I was away about how to put all that I learned, experienced, and thought during this trip into words for you all.  How could I possibly hope to give you even a glimpse of what this week was like for me?

Saturday was a day of travel and getting to know the people we would spend the next week with.  I went on this trip having met only 2 people people prior to our missions meeting.  I met most of the team during meetings but after a few drop outs and a few last minute additions, it is safe to say the Lord hand picked this team and it was incredible.  We may have gone as a team of strangers but we came back closer than a year in America could have made us.

Sunday we worshiped in the existing church building with the congregation we would begin building a church for the next day...

Just before we walked in, I was asked to give a testimony.  Many of you have seen me say before that I am a great many things, a public speaker not among them.  As I hesitated the Lord brought this scripture to mind: 'Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect' - 1 Peter 3:15

Alright then.  A few minutes later I was sharing with my Haitian brothers and sisters in Christ about how I came to have a personal relationship with the Lord and a tidbit of what the Lord has been teaching me at my home church, in my women's bible study group.  I shared on these verses from Romans 12:

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. 

This portion of Romans 12 is called 'Love in Action'.  Isn't that the heart behind missions?

Sunday afternoon we went to 2 of 3 orphanages run by a pastor we were working with.  This was a highlight of the trip for me...

The pastor told us that it costs about one US dollar per child to feed them a meal.  So they could eat three meals a day if they had $3 per kid per day...which they don't always have.  I of course thought of myself and my daily sonic drink runs...talk about perspective.  I didn't go to Haiti to feel bad about what I have, and I don't.  But I'm humbled to realize that even when I feel like I'm 'struggling to get by', I have no idea what it means to go without.

My life was changed but maybe not in the ways you think.  I didn't leave the week feeling sorry for people who don't live like we do here, in America.  My heart did break a few times, especially at the orphanage but not for the 'things' these kids don't have (the list of which is long) but for the lack of love they experience.  These children were beautiful and they couldn't get enough hugs and attention from us.  We literally walked the orphanages with a kid on each hip and there were more waiting their turn.

I've confessed a time or two that I'm not a 'kid person' but I would have brought a dozen back with me if I could have. Most of these children will not be adopted.  They will live together in these orphanaged until 18-20 when the church people will try to set them up as best they can for success in Haitian society.

It was above all a humbling experience.  It's easy to forget how blessed we are amongst our day to day problems but we have so much to be grateful for.  I'm thankful that my niece doesn't have to miss a meal.  That she's never without arms ready to hold her.  She won't have to sleep in a bed without sheets.  She will never be raised amongst 62 other children by one person.

This trip renewed my love for adoption.  I've shared many a times that adoption is close to my heart as my own Dad was adopted at birth.  I believe that we as believers are called to take care of the orphans.  This brought that point home to me like never before.  I hope one day I will be able to take in a few orphans myself.  It's the ultimate visual of God adopting us, isn't it?

Monday started are work week and I can't wait to tell/show you what THAT was like ( I think you'll all be fascinated by my role)... you can anxiously await that later this week.

Love,
B