So... apparently it's pretty much March. What!?!!
I feel like, thus far, I've done an alright job of spending less. I'm buying a lot less at work and putting a lot more thought into every purchase, but I can definitely do a better job of it! I see opportunities for myself with groceries and "essentials" (face products, makeup, hair stuff, etc.). I need to pay more attention to prices and sales and anticipate my needs so I can shop around and pick things up during sales.
As far as meal prepping goes, I can feel a difference in myself when I meal prep and when I don't. Food from local shops just doesn't taste as good as something I've made myself! Plus, not spending $12 on a mediocre sandwich feels awesome. I think I need to meal prep foods that give me a slight amount of wiggle room in preparation instead of eating the exact same thing for lunch 5 days a week. Right now I'm testing out salsa chicken, which I'm going to use for taco salads, tacos, maybe on a baked potato. Again, I definitely see room for improvements as far as this goes. Live and learn, eh?
An update from my 2014 resolution is that well, I'm still not drinking soda. I mean, I have one every now and then, but it's just necessary spending and calories so I keep it minimal. Give me iced coffee over a Coke any day!
I'm trying really hard to continue my trend of productivity on my days off. Since I've pretty much given up shopping, I spend less time physically out shopping but also time spent on my laptop online shopping. Over the past month it's just been so hard to get myself to clean something extra (tidying up my room isn't a big deal because I just cannot tolerate it being a mess on the days I work), do my laundry, run anything but the most urgent errands. I would much rather sit in bed and watch some TV on my laptop... Forcing myself to do laundry (can't run out of jeans for work!) and meal prepping has helped - even little bits of productivity feel amazing and get me motivated to do more. But, getting to that point of productivity is the hardest part.
I'm feeling better about the state of my wardrobe but I do think I'll need to do another clean out and purge soon. I keep flipping past items I haven't worn in a long time but love. Maybe it's time to let them go...
I wrote about this on my Tumblr last week. 2015 needs to be the year of "me". The year of me being selfish, because I can be. No boyfriend, no roommates, currently no rent/car payments, just me, myself, and my job. So I have to focus on making myself the best I can be this year. Once I love me, am happy with me, I can worry about finding love and all of that other "grown-up" stuff. I guess that's just what has come down the road for me... focusing on me.
Next month I want to work on spending (at the grocery store and Target, mostly), setting up some financial things my dad has been nagging me about, and being more productive earlier in the day on my days off.
Let's see how it goes.
