Tuesday Sundries - Use What You Have!

As I mentioned in Sunday's "Week in Review", positive money thoughts are on my mind. And there are a few reasons for this.

The first one is I am tired of living paycheck to paycheck. The second one is I can see the end of supporting three people and get to just supporting me! Third, I know my computer needs replacing in the near future. And since I am using it for work, as well as pleasure, I really need to update my desktop. But what I want is a bit pricey. (Yes, I want another Mac Desktop.) Fourth, beating myself up with negative thoughts about money haven't worked in decades. So I will turn my thought process concerning money around a bit.

Fifth, I want to buy a house. I didn't think I would want to buy a house, but I have changed my mind. I want MY space in MY house. I have moved 6 times in the past 6 years and I really want to put down roots - literally and figuratively. 

I have managed (pat myself on the back) to get my credit score up about 100 points since the first of the year. Of course, when you are starting in the basement, the only way is up! (Well, it could have gone a tad lower!)

Another change in my thought process is I am getting less embarassed about talking about it to those people I need to talk to about money and payments. I have finally realized I am not the worse person in the world with my finances. Granted, I'm far from the best, but I'm not the worse. And people do understand and are willing to help. 

Mr. Arizona, Savvy's partner, is super with saving money. However, he is a bit 'too save-y' for me. I need to find a happy medium.

That being said, I have been seeing "No Spend" posts and videos everywhere lately. Yes, Universe, I am taking note! 

The premise is, except for essentials, no spending on anything else. Great idea! The problem is, for me, it's like saying 'I'm on a diet, I can't eat that' and then I bury my face in a cake. 

The same thing with money. I tell myself to 'save/don't spend' and I go crazy!

I have found out over the past few months, for me, writing down every time I spend money helps me rein in my impulse spending. I have my Hobonichi Mega Weeks all set up for 2019 already. 




Then I have seen a couple of people who have talked about, instead, 'use what you have'. That resonated with me. It didn't send me into a state of panic. So for 2019 I will use what I already have - up to a certain point.


  • There is no doubt I won't buy fabric or fibers. I have enough for 10 lifetimes already and based on the past couple of months, I won't have time for really working with them anyway. What I would like to do is to get someone to quilt my finished quilts for me. 
  • Same with books. I have a ton of books which I haven't really read, so I will draw a line on buying new books (maybe). 
  • Tarot and oracle cards - I have a huge wishlist on Amazon, but I haven't really used half of the ones on my shelf. So I will use the ones I have and continue to wishlist cards in 2019.
  • Food. I/we waste a lot more food that I would like. So more meal planning, cooking smaller meals (so hard for me), cutting out fast food. I would rather have 1 nice meal out a month than a dozen trips through the drive-thru.
  • Starbucks - yes, I am a Starbucks FAN. (I need the North Carolina coffee cup by the way) But I do plan on my 'outings' and maximize points (love double point days) for free coffee. So I am not giving up Starbucks.
  • Plants - sigh! I will at least hold off on any more (maybe) until I'm into MY house
  • Gaming - working at GameStop now, this might be a bit difficult, after all I do have to stay up on new games. However, as of this moment in time, my plan is to get the World of Warcraft expansion and that's it. We will see.
  • Notebooks and journals - I have a ton already which are unused. So I will use up what I have now and not get any new ones until I am out of the ones I currently have.

I will be focusing on quality over quanity. Watching ads for when items on on sale (Bath & Body) and using apps for getting points which I can turn into gift cards for places like Starbucks and Amazon. I won't be replacing my iPhone next year when it's paid off (which I would normally do). It's fine and dandy just like it is now.  However, an Instant Pot has been on my wishlist for ages now. It's been replaced by a Ninja Foodie and that is a definite purchase next year.

So...2019 is already shaping up to be an interesting year.




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