7 Things...

By: Michelle

With only two days until my LSAT (oh my goodness, I almost just fainted), it is safe to say that I have neglected many things that I would normally complete under normal circumstances. So here is a list of things that I cannot wait to tackle once my test is out of the way:

1. Wash this- She has pretty much looked like this for a month now... I am so embarrassed right now, so let us move on!

2. Put away these- I will probably have to iron all of them now that they have sat here for a few days!

3. Fix this- I planted these flowers in June, I think, and they were totally fine until I started school. Having school and LSAT prep caused me to totally forget about these sweet little guys! I hope Lowe's is ready for me to come exchange them (I bet they will really begin to re-think that year-long warranty they offered me)!

 4. Go out there- Looking out this window everyday makes me feel like I am in prison!

5. Fill this- I cannot wait to write some WAY overdue letters!

6. Take these away- They all need to be recycled, and soon! Yay, extra money!!!

7. Take these down- This will make it all real, I will be officially DONE with the LSAT!

Wish me luck!!!

Grocery Budgeting

By: Michelle

How much do you spend on groceries every week? Do you have one large shopping trip a month to buy non-perishables and other supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, dish soap, etc? Some people like separate food from these other items, but I do not have the patients for that, so I group them all together. If you are unsure how much you spend on food, it is time to start tracking it. Keep all of your receipts that have anything to do with food (or if you are like me and feel that receipts might give you cancer someday, than just write down all of the amounts). At the end of the month, or pay period (whatever you want to base your final budget off of), total up all of your food purchases and you will have a reliable number to base your spending off of. Keep in mind that you should include every time you grab a snack, or a coffee as well!

Picture by Harmony Nest

If you are like Cole and I were, than you probably already know about how much you spend. You might have to make some adjustments to include your morning coffee, or your laundry soap, but you already have a pretty clear number. This is great if you do, because you can start trimming away at it! What can you taper down, or even cut out to make that number smaller? The less money that you spend on groceries (especially if you find yourself throwing out a lot of bad food at the end of the month), the more money that you have for yourself! Cole and I are lucky enough to live in an area where there is plenty of competition, so the food prices are pretty low, but some of you might have to take a look at the ads to see where the best deals are (although we still carefully read the adds to plan our menus during the week).

I LOVE this picture! Thank you My Sister's Kitchen

When Cole and I started our budget, we were spending upwards of $100-$150 per week on groceries. Now we spend, on average, $50 per week (that means we spend a little more than a dollar per meal, per person while eating mostly organic and natural foods)! We do not, by any stretch of the imagination, go hungry during the week, but we instead have a carefully thought out meal plan that uses our resources wisely. You will almost never find something in our fridge that has gone bad! I will show how I make my weekly meal plan in a future post because it was something that was extremely difficult for me to start, but now that I have it, I can't imagine going back to the way it used to be. Imagine never feeling that horrible sense of not knowing what to make for dinner ever again, and never breaking your budget because you just decide to go out to eat instead... Yep, feels good, doesn't it?!

For your homework, track your spending for the week. How much did you spend on groceries? Are there any trips that you only take once in a while that you need to keep in mind, such as the monthly T.P. trip? Brainstorm ways to cut your budget down? Finally, leave me a comment and share how you save money! I love to get new ideas!

Workout Wednesday

By: Michelle

I have been meaning to workout more due to all of the obvious health benefits, but my problem is twofold: I lack the motivation, and I lack the time. My schedule (as you will see in my upcoming day-in-life post) is so crazy that I need to intentionally carve out time to better myself. I am going to start seeking out some quick workouts that will put me back in the saddle, and I will post what I have done and motivational tips every Wednesday. I am even going to get Cole involved since he has been nagging me to make him exercise more often!

Who's with me?

SHOW ME THE MONEY!!!!

By: Michelle

No, really... Pull out your wallet and show me your money! If you are holding on to a debit card, or worse, a credit card, then this post is for you! I want to introduce our cash system to you (and the world really)! This is a system that has worked wonders in our budget, as well as our lives! There have studies that have proven that using cash activates pain receptors in your brain that are not even touched when swiping plastic. If you don't believe it, Google is your friend! If you want to spend less money, use the green stuff! Just try buying that $4 latte... It will feel different, and will probably taste a little like cardboard!

Here is what we use cash for:

1. Food- both restaurants and groceries. As soon as the money is gone, we don't buy anymore food. We have learned how to make money last by being smart and frugal, so we don't go hungry at the end of the month!

2. Clothing- Obviously this is more of my weakness than Cole's. Again, when the money is gone, no more clothes!

3. Entertainment- That's right, we take out $24 every payday (once every two weeks) to pay for our Movie Mondays!

4. Pocket Money- Each of us gets $20 every two weeks to spend on whatever we want, no strings attached. Although it is just a little bit of money, it keeps up from breaking our budget if we want to grab a snack, or if we find something that we just can't live without!

5. Tools Fund- We set aside $50 per paycheck, or $100 per month to reinvest in Cole's career. The best part about him paying for tools with cash is that he ALWAYS gets a discount!

6. Medical Savings- We are currently paying off debt, so we do not have as big of a medical savings as we would like, but whenever we have a known procedure coming up, we pay in cash and take advantage of any discounts we get for paying with "human monies."

7. Miscellaneous Items- Anything that you can buy in a store, really. Both large and small purchases; If we were going to buy a television, we would bring the cash we saved specifically for it; if we were going to get paper towels, we would bring the cash we saved specifically for it. You get the point!

This system prevents you from spending more than you have designated for a purchase (so you don't walk out with the 50-inch TV instead of the 42-inch), and prevents you from buying stuff you didn't anticipate on buying.

Don't get me wrong, I do not walk around with thousands of dollars in my purse all the time (or even often for that matter), but when we do have a large purchase to buy, we normally pull out the cash from our savings that morning and we carry it in a place other than the obvious "mugging-prone" areas (purses and wallets). If I am going grocery shopping, I bring the amount of money I have budgeted for the week, and I always carry my pocket money, just in case I find something that I cannot live without!

One important note before I leave you to your homework: Always get a receipt when you pay in cash. It is easy to say the transaction never happened if you do not have a proof of purchase. Now for the homework part: Write a list of things that you would be willing to start using the cash system for. If you are not comfortable using cash for all of these things right now, than start with an easy one, such as groceries. Take an envelope and write "Groceries" on the front and put all of your grocery money for this week into that envelope. Remember- do not, under any circumstances, use the money in this envelope for anything other than groceries, and absolutely do not use money from anywhere other than that envelope to by groceries.

We will be back tomorrow with a helpful post on creating a grocery/restaurant budget, so stay-tuned for that!

Leave us a comment: Do you use cash for certain purchases? If so, which ones? Do you find that it "hurts" more when you are using cash vs. plastic?

Picture sources: Groceries, Cinema, Medical Money, Pocket, Clothes

Cookin' with Laura: Savory French Toast

By: Michelle

I L.O.V.E. sweet breakfasts! I don't know what it is about that little bit of sugar in the morning that just perks me up, but it definitely does the job! Cole, on the other hand, doesn't like sugary treats in the morning, so we have been searching to find a breakfast that we can compromise on for a while now, and I think we have finally found it! In fact, it's really not even a compromise because we both like it so much! We are in love with this delicious, savory version of a sweet classic. Let's jump right in, so you can see how to make this little piece of heaven:

As always, you can watch the master herself, Laura Vitale, make this recipe here!

Ingredients:

4 Slices of Ciabatta, or any kind of Italian bread, about ½’ inch thick
2 Eggs
1/3 cup of Milk
½ cup of Parmiggiano Reggiano (Parmesan cheese)
2 Tsp of Fresh Thyme, chopped
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbsp of Olive Oil
1 ½ Tbsp of Unsalted Butter

Process:

1) Preheat a large non stick skillet over medium heat and add the butter and oil. (The oil keeps the butter from burning)

2) In a shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, thyme and salt and pepper.

3) Dip the slices of bread in the egg mixture and let it soak for about 5 to 10 seconds on each side.

4) Cook the bread in the hot oil and butter for 3 to 4 minutes on one side or until deeply golden brown

5) As soon as you flip it, sprinkle the Parmiggiano (Parmesan cheese) on top of the cooked side and as the second side cooks, the cheese will slightly melt.

Birthday Breakfast!!!

Happy Cookin'!

Margarita Monday!

By: Michelle

Since Cole is now doing the Movie Review posts, we are going to be posting our margarita picture separately because it is apparently too girly for Cole to post! He is so funny! Anyways, here are our margaritas for the week:

Oh, and I forgot to mention that it is Cole's birthday today!!!! YAY COLE!!! I love you sweetheart!


Enjoy your evening!!!

-M

Movie Monday

By: Cole

So this is my first official blog post!

This week's movie is:

Plot:  In the future, time travel will be invented but immediately outlawed.  Mobs will use time travel to send people they want to dispose of, back in time 30 years and a hit man from the past will be waiting; these hit men are known as "Loopers".  Joe (Joseph Gordon Levitt) is a Looper who has never failed to kill anyone that has been sent back, until the day he finds he has to kill his future-self (Bruce Willis).

 

Review:  From the start, this movie doesn't pull any punches and sets the stage for a very dark dystopian future, where most people are living on the streets, and the only people getting ahead are working for the mob.  Joseph Gordon-Levitt manages to capture his role very well, as a man with no plans past tomorrow, and living wholly in the moment.  Bruce Willis didn't bring much more to the screen then what we have seen before, especially in his more recent endeavors, but this was all that was needed from the 30 year-older-self looking for revenge.  Emily Blunt was a nice addition to the film, however, she does make her entrance fairly late in the game.  If any amount of violence makes you squeamish this movie would obviously not be for you, but as a whole the blood and gore was toned down from what it could have been.  This film made a firm step forward for the Sci-fi genre, where it has been pretty stale for a while.  All in all, I genuinely enjoyed this movie; the pacing was good without having a frenetic pace and constant explosions, the music matched the mood of the scenes, and silence was used to accent emotions.  If you like Action, Sci-fi, or Thrillers, I would definitely recommend checking out this movie.

 
Cole's Rating:8/10

Michelle's Rating:8/10
Check out what others thought at IMDb

Side note:  There was some person using their phone during the movie and someone yelled at them to "Get off your phone!", which was actually more obnoxious than the person checking their text messages, but that's just me.

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