It's probably no surprise that I'm sharing some fitness goals at the start (kinda) of a new year with you all. I know it's pretty cliche to have a new mindset of it being a new year and to start working out / eating healthy, but for me, I love looking at it as a new year for even more growth! I hope by sharing my goals with you all it gives you some inspiration to start/ plan/achieve your fitness goals for the new year as well!
When you just so happen to match a cute ice cream mural you have to do a photoshoot infront of it, am I right? Right. Now only if the weather was warm enough to actually enjoy an ice cream instead of posing infront of one!
Ever been on the hunt for the perfect clothing item but always fall short on it fitting all of your needs? Yeah, been there. It can kind of overwhelming nowadays to find a particular article of clothing you're after with having so many retailers to choose from. Sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands and deal with what you got, and that's exactly what I did with this little number!
GUYS. I somehow let this slip through the cracks of things I wanted to share with you all and I can't believe it's taken me until the week before to announce it to you all...
I'M MOVING TO ORLANDO FLORIDA... kinda.
I know many of you are probably tired of hearing the whole "new year, new me" or everyone stating that it's a fresh start to the new year, etc. etc. but for some reason, I just feel SO good about this year.
I guess it's partially because 2017 wasn't the year filled with things that I hoped it would be and I wanted to take control and make 2018 my year. And that starts with me forcing me to step out of my comfort zone.
I think one of the things all of us want to get better at doing in the new year is budgeting. With the holidays being over and all of the after Christmas sales dying down, it's safe to say that our credit cards need a little break.
Happy Wednesday friends!
Ever since I was little my parents have always drilled the importance of saving money. I have been pretty good at managing my finances but since graduating college I really started to buckle down on my budgeting. Today I wanted to share my tips and tricks on how you can start budgeting and saving some $$ this year! By no means am I considering myself an expert or a financial adviser, but these are a few tips that I follow to help me stay on track with my money!
Track your spending
First things first to track how much you're actually spending each week. When I started to plan out the budget I wanted to see where my money was going to, how much I'm spending and where I need to cut back on. You'd be surprised how fast those little afternoon snack runs and early morning Starbucks runs add up.
For me, I found that most of my money was spent towards food whether it be late-night snack runs, going out to eat with friends, groceries, or those days where I'm just too lazy to make lunch for work. This is also a great time to check to see if you have any monthly subscriptions you're no longer using etc. If you read me How I Organize My Day Designer post you may remember me stating that I like to write down how much I spent each week on the side of my planner to help me track how much I'm spending. I highly recommend doing this to visually see where your money is going!
Calculate your income
Okay, now that we know where our money is going out, time to figure out how much we're taking in. If you work an hourly job like I do, I would just take an average of how much I work per week and calculate that way.
Figure out your fixed costs
There are things we have to pay regardless such as rent, bills, gym membership, etc. As much as we don't want to, we're going to have to pay that regardless so before we start budgeting our money out to spend on "fun" stuff we have to make sure we have enough to keep the lights on in our place first.
Set your goal
Are you saving up for a new car? To move out? That new purse you've been eyeing? Big or small have a set goal in mind of how much you want to save so you have that number to work for. It's easy to say "I want to save money" but having an end goal in mind helps makes you more determined to work for it.
The 50 / 50 rule
As for saving, I tend to try to stick to the 50/50 rule. After subtracting my fixed costs from my income, I take the remaining balance and try to only use 50% for the rest of my spending for the month (gas, groceries, #adutling things). So let's say I have $1200 after all of my fixed costs, I would then try to plan to only spend $600 and save the other $600. From there I divide up an allowance for each category for the month such as gas, groceries, personal items, "fun money", etc.
Having a weekly and monthly allowance really helps me to make sure I stay on track with my spending. If I know I only have $25 left to spend on going out to eat I probably won't try to schedule a dinner date at a nicer restaurant. This also helps prioritize what you really want to spend your money on and make you take a step back on if you really need/want something.
I know everyone has their own financial situations and can't afford to save half their paycheck so you can always adjust the numbers to fit based on your needs.I find that having a set limit of how much I'm putting away to save/spend has really kept me on track on how much money I'm spending each month.
If you want to find out other ways to save some money this year, I wrote a blog post on my top 7 Money-Saving Tips! I hope this helped you all out in some way and let me know if you have any budgeting tips that work for you down below! I hope you all have a wonderful day and as always, thank you for reading!
Ever since I was little my parents have always drilled the importance of saving money. I have been pretty good at managing my finances but since graduating college I really started to buckle down on my budgeting. Today I wanted to share my tips and tricks on how you can start budgeting and saving some $$ this year! By no means am I considering myself an expert or a financial adviser, but these are a few tips that I follow to help me stay on track with my money!
Track your spending
First things first to track how much you're actually spending each week. When I started to plan out the budget I wanted to see where my money was going to, how much I'm spending and where I need to cut back on. You'd be surprised how fast those little afternoon snack runs and early morning Starbucks runs add up.
For me, I found that most of my money was spent towards food whether it be late-night snack runs, going out to eat with friends, groceries, or those days where I'm just too lazy to make lunch for work. This is also a great time to check to see if you have any monthly subscriptions you're no longer using etc. If you read me How I Organize My Day Designer post you may remember me stating that I like to write down how much I spent each week on the side of my planner to help me track how much I'm spending. I highly recommend doing this to visually see where your money is going!
Calculate your income
Okay, now that we know where our money is going out, time to figure out how much we're taking in. If you work an hourly job like I do, I would just take an average of how much I work per week and calculate that way.
Figure out your fixed costs
There are things we have to pay regardless such as rent, bills, gym membership, etc. As much as we don't want to, we're going to have to pay that regardless so before we start budgeting our money out to spend on "fun" stuff we have to make sure we have enough to keep the lights on in our place first.
Set your goal
Are you saving up for a new car? To move out? That new purse you've been eyeing? Big or small have a set goal in mind of how much you want to save so you have that number to work for. It's easy to say "I want to save money" but having an end goal in mind helps makes you more determined to work for it.
The 50 / 50 rule
As for saving, I tend to try to stick to the 50/50 rule. After subtracting my fixed costs from my income, I take the remaining balance and try to only use 50% for the rest of my spending for the month (gas, groceries, #adutling things). So let's say I have $1200 after all of my fixed costs, I would then try to plan to only spend $600 and save the other $600. From there I divide up an allowance for each category for the month such as gas, groceries, personal items, "fun money", etc.
Having a weekly and monthly allowance really helps me to make sure I stay on track with my spending. If I know I only have $25 left to spend on going out to eat I probably won't try to schedule a dinner date at a nicer restaurant. This also helps prioritize what you really want to spend your money on and make you take a step back on if you really need/want something.
I know everyone has their own financial situations and can't afford to save half their paycheck so you can always adjust the numbers to fit based on your needs.I find that having a set limit of how much I'm putting away to save/spend has really kept me on track on how much money I'm spending each month.
If you want to find out other ways to save some money this year, I wrote a blog post on my top 7 Money-Saving Tips! I hope this helped you all out in some way and let me know if you have any budgeting tips that work for you down below! I hope you all have a wonderful day and as always, thank you for reading!
xoxo,
Amy
Amy
New year, new me, new fitness goals, am I right? I mean you have your Pinterest board already set up with all of your pre and post workout meals, you have your workouts planned for each day of the week and you even signed up for a gym membership... but despite all of the planning you're still struggling to get your booty to the gym.
I get that. I mean, who really wants to go out when it's below 30 out to get a workout in? Today I'm sharing 8 reasons why you should hit the gym for those days you may need a little extra motivation to get yourself to workout!
It's hard to believe we're already about a week into the new year! As I do every month, I'm sharing my Instagram round up of outfits and looks I've shared on Instagram / Insta stories with you all! I always love sharing my "real life" outfits with you all and sharing multiple ways you can style your clothing pieces.
If you haven't yet, be sure to check out October and November's roundup as well!
If you haven't yet, be sure to check out October and November's roundup as well!
It's here! It's here! It's here!
One of the best sales of the year (the other being the one that occurs in August) is here! If you're in the dark on what I'm talking about, then let me que you in... it's the LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE!
One of the best sales of the year (the other being the one that occurs in August) is here! If you're in the dark on what I'm talking about, then let me que you in... it's the LILLY PULITZER AFTER PARTY SALE!
Happy New Years friends! As I do every year and as cliche, as it is, I'm sharing my goals, plans, and thoughts for the new year. I'm hoping to make this year "the best one yet" and go into it with a different mindset than I have done so in previous years.
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