January Financial Wrap Up

January is coming to a close, & I'm planning to call this month - The One Where We Spent Less than Budgeted. Definitely a shocker, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time. :-)

Our budget for the month was $12,679, and we ended up spending $12,557. Of course, we spent more than expected in some categories, and far less than expected in one notable category. The way our refinance on our vacation property played out, the first payment is being withdrawn tomorrow (2/1), instead of 1/31 as expected. This meant that $2600 that was allocated for that mortgage was not spent. Given the "slush", I reallocated some funds & purchased each kid two tuition credits, and made an additional $1000 payment on our HELOC. (The HELOC will now be the focus of our additional mortgage payments, as it's currently at the highest interest rate.)

Here's our income for the month:

• Employee stock purchase (it's taken out of my paycheck each month & then sold quarterly) - $1,993
• Stock dividend from an investment - $490
• Reimbursement from my dependent care account ($5K is taken out of my paycheck during the course of the year, & I get reimbursed for daycare spend - up to $5K) - $1645
• Paychecks - $11,268
• Total income for the month = $15,396

I am coming closer & closer on groceries each month, but have never actually hit our goal of $600. Maybe I should just raise to $650 & find another category to trim? Decisions. . .

Categories where we were over:

• Groceries. My nemesis. Budget was $600, and we spent $651.
• Dining out. Very ambitious goal was $100, and we spent $383.95. When creating the budget, I forgot that we were taking the kids to an overnight water park, and would be eating out for four meals in a row.
• Boys lessons. All of our normal adventures were covered, but I didn't know that baseball sign up happened in January. Lesson learned. Budget was $0, and we spent $320.
• Vacation house utilities. I inadvertently forgot to set up bill pay for a bill in December, so I owed double the amount (plus a small fee, so annoyed at myself) in January. This month's budget was particularly big because we pay a yearly fee to a maintenance/home watch service. Budget was $650, and actual spend was $742.57
• Travel. Again, forgot that we were going to the water park. The deposit was paid some time ago, but this includes tax on the room, the locker rental, etc. Budget was zero and we spent $50.
• Childcare. We ended up having to pay for extra care when schools were closed a few weeks ago, but we still had to work. Couldn't be helped. Budget was our standard $1675, and we spent $1765.
• Health. I registered for two races. I don't have a very big line item for this category, but if I get into running, training, and races as I hope, I'm going to look at raising this permanently. Budget was $0, and I spent $146.10.
• Makeup. Goal was to spend $0, but I brought a eye brow pencil (which I'll say is AMAZING - brand = Anastasia) & spent $14.78
• Liquor. My goal was to spend $0, but I ended up buying beer for M a few times. He likes beer after skiing, and our house was stocked on wine, but beer-less. We spent $18.29. 
• Charitable donations. We didn't have any money line itemed this month (we have everything auto-deducted from our paycheck), but ended up donating $100 to an auction at my son's school.
• Clothes for M. Budget was $0, but he needed jeans. Total spend = $97.35
• Boys birthdays. I picked up a few items, and I had budgeted for these categories in February and March. Total budget was $0, and I spent $137.54.

 Categories where we spent less than anticipated, on track, or paid down more than expected on a loan, etc.

• Primary residence mortgage. Typical payment is $4850. We applied extra principal, and came in at $5835.
• Boys college. We had nothing budgeted, but ended up using some of our extra funds to buy two tuition credits per child, so total spend was $652.
• Gas. Budget was $450, and we spent $404.
• Primary residence utilities. For some reason, not very many bills have come in yet this month. I'm sure next month will be larger as a result. Total budget was $675. Total spend was $390.
• Boys clothes. I returned a few things I bought in January. Budget was $0, and we came in at -$45.96. Yeah!
• Clothes for me. Same as above. Budget was $0, and we came in at -$108.76.
• Personal. Budget was $75, and we came in at $34.
• House. Budget was $75, and we came in at $56.67.
• Car. Budget was $50, and we came in at $9.71. We did, however, buy a 2011 Audi SUV, but that came out of cash & wasn't part of our regular monthly budget. Love it!
• Boys (misc). This is my catch all category, since we don't have an entertainment line item. Budget was $25, and we spent $17.25 for two movie tickets on New Year's Day - took my son to see Alvin & The Chipmunks. :-)
• Insurance. Exactly at our budgeted amount of $199.50. :-)
• Cleaning. Budget was $380, and we spent $300. The cleaner couldn't make it when it snowed.
• Christmas. Budget was $0, and we spent $0. Haven't started stocking up yet.
• Vacation residence. Budget was $2600, and as noted, we spent $0.
• Skiing. Budget was $200, and we spent $154. We didn't get to ski last Sunday, as it was raining.

If you made it all the way through that laundry list, you deserve a prize! Focus for the month ahead is to find a few categories to trim back, as our car insurance is going up substantially with the addition of a new car. We'll be removing our third car at some point, but haven't made any final decisions on that.

How did you do with your January spending? On track? Over? Under?

Menu Plan Monday (1/30/12)

Here's what we're eating this week:

• Monday - Sauteed tilapia with honey scallion dressing, over greens
• Tuesday - Tortellini with diced chicken (from M's giant barbecue fest this weekend) + diced tomatoes, olive oil, & shredded parmesan cheese
• Wednesday - Garlic chicken with orzo (bumped from last week)
• Thursday - Leftovers
• Friday - Mystery freezer casserole. I think it's Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella and Meat Sauce.
• Saturday - Out for a combination Valentine's Day/birthday dinner
• Sunday - Bumped from last week, since we didn't end up skiing. Barbecued Pizza Bites.

What's on your menu for the week? Have you tried any great recipes lately? I'm excited for the cupcakes that will be accompanying my birthday dinner on Friday. ;-)

Weekly Spending Recap (1/23/12-1/29/12)

Another week has passed! Here's how we did with our spending this week. Two no spend days in a week. Super fun! :-) I picked up some birthday supplies this weekend, which will go towards our planned spend for each child's birthday.

 

• Monday
• Coffee for me + M at Starbucks (on a gift card)
• Tuesday
• No spend day!
• Wednesday
• $66.55 - gas
• Thursday
• $100 - donation to the boys school's auction
• $18.57 - groceries
• $18.98 - birthday gift for a kids party my son is attending this weekend
• $8.99 - beer for M (so much for the no liquor spend ;-))
• $43.74 - invitations, goodie bags, and items to fill the bags for my oldest's birthday coming up in a few weeks
• $138.65 - Costco. We stocked up on chicken breasts (M barbecues them in giant batches & then we freeze them for easy meal prep) and also had to purchase ground beef, plus all of our normal produce.
• Friday
• No spend day!! :-)
• Saturday
• $58.30 - Target for goodie bag items. My younger son is having his party at my mom's house (his request), as most of my extended family lives in the area & he requested a party with all of the family. As a result, there will be just my kids + my two nephews at the party, so I got more substantial goodie bag items - one pack of Pokemon cards each (it's a Pokemon themed party, of course ;-)) + a $10 Target gift card for each kid. I get annoyed by all of the wasteful stuff in a traditional goodie bag & was hoping to come up with something a little more useful.
• $35.50 - party store for invitations, plates, napkins, etc for youngest's birthday. He's turning five in *March*, but gets very excited when he sees the planning begin for my oldest son's birthday. As a result, it's easiest for me to plan & purchase for both parties at the same time. :-)
• Sunday
• $1.15 - Protein smoothie at the gym (on gift card)
• Childcare for the kids while I worked out - on gift card

Total spend = $489.28. Hands down, the least we've spent in a week since I stated tracking! Victory! And, the $100 donation to the kids school was completely unexpected - we would have been rocking it without that.

How did you do for your weekly spending? On track? Also, if you have kids, how much do you allocate for each birthday? We typically get the birthday boy one gift, and allow them to either do an experience (for example, a night at Great Wolf Lodge), or a birthday party. For my own sanity, we typically do not have the party at our house. Either way, it adds up quickly. Our budget is $500, although I'm hoping to trim it back to $450 this year.

Here's an example of our budget for my oldest son's birthday. (He's having his party at a bowling alley, and my nephews will attend, plus two family friends, and he's inviting four school children.)

• Cake - $30
• Cupcakes (for his class on the day of his birthday - we cannot bake our own) - $10, estimate. Not sure how much these are from the store.
• Goodie bag items for 10 kids- $50
• Bowling + pizza/soda for 10 kids - $160
• Adult food/drinks (my parents, sister, and best friend will attend, as well as any parents of other children. We'll order a few pizzas/salads & beverages - $100 (estimate)
• Birthday gift (purchased in 2011 on a Groupon deal) - rock climbing lessons & rock wall climbing pass - $40

Total = $390.

Sunday Update

I had a productive couple of days, and accomplished most of what I'd hoped for on Friday. Not too shabby. :-)

1. Eat under 1450 calories for the day  - Done.
2. Complete a cardio & strength workout. I need to run today, because I'm officially kicking off my half marathon training plan next week. - Done.
3. Order my son's birthday cake for his party in a few weeks. - I did this on Saturday, but done.
4. Cancel my cleaning service. I've been dreading making this call, but our current cleaner hasn't been doing what I've asked, and I've given many opportunities for improvement. I'm not good at this kind of conversation, so I've been putting it off.  - I'm still putting this off. ;-)
5. Rework our budget based on new numbers - higher mortgage based on refinance to 15 year loan, smaller paycheck due to higher investment amount being taken account, and increase in insurance because we added our new car! :-) We bought an Audi Q7, and it's lovely. - Mostly done. A few tweaks left.
6. Clean out my laptop bag. This is one of my pet peeves - papers just tend to accumulate in there, and I can never find what I'm looking for! - Done.
7. Laundry - the never ending task. - Done.
8. *Edited to add* - I knew I was forgetting something. Get our tax paperwork prepped, and Turbo Tax installed, so I can start working on the taxes! - Well, I got to this today. I'm about 1/2 way through our taxes, and got Turbo Tax installed, so now I need to call around and get some additional details on forms we're missing, etc.

I'm working on my men for the week, cleaning the house, getting our taxes in order, and I went to the gym today. We were supposed to go skiing, but it's raining at the mountain. And really, who enjoys skiing in the rain? That will save close to $100, which is great, because I bought a bunch of birthday items yesterday. Love productive Sundays!

What are you up to today? Any fun plans?

Goals for today

Happy Friday!

Some days I just have to break down my giant monthly goals into smaller tasks for the day. Helps to keep me motivated. Here's what I have queued up for today. :-)

1. Eat under 1450 calories for the day
2. Complete a cardio & strength workout. I need to run today, because I'm officially kicking off my half marathon training plan next week.
3. Order my son's birthday cake for his party in a few weeks.
4. Cancel my cleaning service. I've been dreading making this call, but our current cleaner hasn't been doing what I've asked, and I've given many opportunities for improvement. I'm not good at this kind of conversation, so I've been putting it off.
5. Rework our budget based on new numbers - higher mortgage based on refinance to 15 year loan, smaller paycheck due to higher investment amount being taken account, and increase in insurance because we added our new car! :-) We bought an Audi Q7, and it's lovely.
6. Clean out my laptop bag. This is one of my pet peeves - papers just tend to accumulate in there, and I can never find what I'm looking for!
7. Laundry - the never ending task.
8. *Edited to add* - I knew I was forgetting something. Get our tax paperwork prepped, and Turbo Tax installed, so I can start working on the taxes!

That's it for me! What are you planning to accomplish today? 

Menu Plan and Goal Check

I'm a little late to the party this week (can't believe it's Thursday & I still haven't posted a menu!), but things have been crazy. I missed a bunch of work last week due to the weather, so I'm playing catch up this week. Plus planning my son's birthday party, and all of the normal rigamaroll. :-)

 

We've been eating lots of yummy things this week, and here's what's on the menu for the next week or so:

 

• Thursday - Tilapia Piccata with Orzo
• Friday - Homemade bolognese sauce/spaghetti
• Saturday - Leftover Roasted Butternut Squash & Bacon Pasta (from the freezer)
• Sunday - traditional apres ski meal - pizza.
• Monday - White Cheddar Chicken Pasta (sauce from the freezer)
• Tuesday - Beef tacos + black beans
• Wednesday - Mahi Mahi + mango salsa, possibly over rice
• Thursday - Garlic chicken with orzo
• Friday - Leftovers
• Saturday - Mystery pasta dish from freezer (yes, I need to start marking these). I think it's this one. (Baked Shells with Pesto, Mozzarella, and Meat Sauce).
• Sunday - Pizza. May try these Barbecue Pizza Bites to mix things up a bit.

And, with just 5 days left in the month, I wanted to do a quick January goal check. Overall, I'm feeling pretty good!

1. Lose 4 lbs in January, bringing my weight to 146. - I've been doing exceptionally well with eating and working out. I've been eating between 1400 & 1500 calories/day, and hitting the gym hard. My clothes are definitely fitting better, but I've only lost one pounds. I'm pressing on & staying focused. I know I already feel better.  
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. Wow! That feels like a lot. :-) - I've completed 845 minutes of cardio so far, so almost there!
3. Find a training plan for my 1/2 marathon, and map out all workouts. - Completed! I've registered for two races, found a suitable training plan, and added all workouts to my calendar. Yeah!
4. Spend $0 on clothes/shoes/makeup for myself & $0 for clothing/shoes for the kids. - Groan. I spent $14.78 on an eye brow pencil when my other one broke. I did return a pair of (unworn, tags still on, of course) pair of yoga pants that I bought in December & didn't end up needing. They were $21.89, so I at least offset my spending.
5. Complete 10 strength workouts. - I've completed 8 strength workouts, and have five days to get in the last two. I've struggled with this one way more than my cardio goal, but I know I can do it. 
6. No artificial sugar in coffee or tea. Evaluate diet to see if I'm consuming other artificial sweetener. - I've completely eliminated sweetner of any kind in my coffee & tea. It's been a shock to the system, but I'm slowly adjusting ot the taste of my coffee with just milk. I also stopped drinking the flavored water at work (I used to mix with Crystal Light and/or flavored Talking Rain).
7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget for two tuition credits for each child. - I used $325 in Christmas money to fund one credit/child, and used the dividends from a stock to fund the other $325. Done.
8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and complete a monthly spending report. I'd like to also do a minimum of two weekly spending reports in January to check to see if we're on track, highlight any "red" areas, and adjust our spending accordingly. - On track. 
9. Pay an extra $500 on our vacation mortgage, and $500 extra on our primary mortgage. - Done! I received (and subsequently sold) some employeer stock, as well as received dividends from another stock I own. I paid $1000 to our second (primary residence) mortgage, as it currently is at the highest rate.
10. Have a date night with M. Need to look at the calendar & get this planned out. - We had a fabulous date night last Saturday, and talked to friends about potentially trading off date night sitting, which would be fabulous & frugal!
11. Get together with two friends. - A couple of planned events got moved due to the snow, but I'm meeting a few friends for lunch tomorrow.
12. Determine guardians for the kids, which is the part of our wills that have caused us the most consternation. It's a very difficult decision, there are no easy answers, but it's just irresponsible to avoid the decision. - Anyway, still nothing.

How are you doing with your January goals? Feeling on track, like you can tackle everything you'd hoped for?

Weekly Spending Report (1/16/12-1/22/12)

Well, we were snowed in for a bit of the week, so our errands/events were all consolidated into the days when we could leave our house. ;-) I felt guilty about breaking my January spending fast (no shoes, clothes, or makeup) when I bought the eyebrow pencil, so I returned a pair of yoga pants to Costco that I hadn't worn/didn't need. That more than offset the cost, alleviating some of my guilt. ;-)

• Monday (1/16) (MLK day, the kids were off school):
• $42.92 - Gas
• $14.91 - picked up sandwiches for skiing at Subway
• $71 - lift tickets (2 of us have passes, so this was just for me + my youngest)
• $139.42 - groceries at Costco. Good thing we stocked up, because the snow came the next day!
• Tuesday (1/17) - M & I met for lunch, since I was working from home.
• $27.86 - lunch at PF Changs
• $14.78 - an eyebrow filler/pencil at Sephora.
• Wednesday (1/18) - no spend day. :-)
• Thursday (1/19)
• $2 - made the very snowy trek to the grocery store for pasta, which we were out of.
• $9.30 for beer. M needed it, badly. :-)
• Friday (1/20)
• $30 - Took the kids to the gym daycare, so M & I could squeeze in a few meetings. I was supposed to use my gift card to pay for this, but forgot the card at home. Bummer.
• Saturday (1/21)
• $64.15 - groceries from Costco
• $13.94 - dishwasher soap (comes out of our household budget)
• -$21.89 - returned a pair of yoga pants to Costco
• $100 - dinner out with M for date night. I think. Haven't seen the credit card charge, & M signed for it.
• Sunday (1/22)
• $71 - ski lift tickets
• $7 - hot chocolate + fries at the ski lodge

 Total spend = $586.39. Totally it up, it's more than I thought it would be! I guess the two ski trips in one week, plus the date night dinner out made this week similar to others. Bummer. Above last week's spending by about $3. :-)

Twenty One Days & other odds and ends

There's a bunch of research out there showing that it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Given that we're (almost) 21 days into the new year, how are you doing with your goals or resolutions?

Goals:
I'm still struggling to lose weight (I've finally lost something - .4 of a pound, but I'll take what I can get), but I'm doing awesome with my cardio workouts. Strength training has been a bit more of a struggle - we were snowbound with the kids out of school for five days, so going to the gym wasn't happening.

I've gotten adjusted to the taste of not having artificial sugar in my coffee, and prefer it this way now that I'm three weeks again. Baby steps.

I did,  however, break my goal of spending $0 on clothes, shoes, or makeup. My eyebrow pencil broke (after only a few weeks), so I replaced it with a highly recommended one. I used a Sephora gift card to offset most of the cost. I have super light eyebrows, and don't wear much make up but find this an essential to making my tiny eyes pop a bit more. Otherwise, I've spent nothing on my wardrobe, and nothing for the boys.

Recipes:
In other news, we tried a new recipe yesterday & it was wonderful! Kind of a grown up take on macaroni & cheese, but healthier & with chicken. White cheddar chicken pasta - give it a try!

Homebound or, snomaggedon:
Speaking of the snow, we live just outside of Seattle & got a ton of snow (for us) the past few days. We've been homebound, because they didn't plow any of the roads near us. We had about 8 inches, and without a snow plow, the roads have been too difficult to traverse. It's finally raining today, but the good news is, when you're trapped at home, it's hard to spend much money. My spending report will surely reflect the good news. :-)

Weekend plans:
Since we've been trapped at home for a few days, I'm guessing we'll be out and about more than usual over the weekend. M & I finally have our date night tomorrow (yeah!), the boys both have soccer, and then we'll all be skiing on Sunday. The mountain has gotten a *ton* of snow, so the skiing should be good.

What are you up to the this weekend? Any fun plans?

Menu Plan Tuesday

I'm late getting this posted, as our schedule has been derailed a bit with the kids home. Here's what we're eating this week!

• Tuesday - Leftover Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta. This was amazing, and used up some butternut squash that we've had in the freezer for awhile.
• Wednesday - Caesar salads with barbecued chicken (freezer)
• Thursday - White cheddar chicken pasta (bumped from last week)
• Friday - Mahi Mahi tacos
• Saturday - Date night!!
• Sunday - Skiing. Likely having our traditional apres ski meal of homemade pizza. M & I prefer this Chicken, Red Grape, & Pesto pizza.
• Monday - Garlic chicken with orzo noodles

What's on your menu for the week? Have you tried any great recipes lately?

Weekly Spending Report (1/9/12-1/15/12)

Whew, where did last week go? My sister & I took our kids to a water park (delayed birthday celebration for my nephew, who broke his collarbone & couldn't go in December), schools were closed for MLK Day, we took the kids skiing, we had a snow day, the list goes on. :-) We're expected to get more snow tonight, but the weather forecast has been pretty off so far. We shall see.

Anyway, here's the spending recap for last week.

• Monday (1/9)
• No spend day. Hurrah! :-)
• Tuesday (1/10)
• $73.48 - groceries at Costco
• $42.73 - tax preparation software
• Wednesday (1/11)
• $326 - two tuition credits for the kids
• $44.65 - birthday gifts for my youngest at Toys R Us. I picked up gifts for my mom, so I'll be getting reimbursed for part of this.
• $6 - lunch at Nordstrom Cafe. This was for the tip - we had a gift card for the rest.
• -$194.91 - M returned his jeans he bought last week, because he found a similar pair for much less.
• $97.35 - M's "sale" jeans. ;-)
• $9.71 - car wash, after taking the car on the mountain roads for skiing.
• Thursday (1/12)
• -$45.96 - Returned a coat to Lands End that doesn't fit my son.
• Friday (1/13)
• $15.60 - Quiznos for lunch, on the way to the water park.
• Saturday (1/14)
• $65.54 - Gas
• $15 - lunch at McDonalds on the way home from the water park.
• $128.03 - remaining charges for the water park. Includes room tax, dinner on Friday night, breakfast on Saturday, etc.
• Sunday (1/15)
• Child care, massage, & lunch at the gym. All on a gift card.

Total spend = $583.02. Wow! Considering that $326 of that was for tuition credits for the kids, that's a huge improvement for me. :-) How did your spending go last week?

10 day goal check

Inspired by the ever productive Carla, and My 1/2 Dozen Daily, I thought it would be helpful to do a status check on my January goals. We are ten days into the year, and here's how I'm doing!

1. Lose 4 lbs in January, bringing my weight to 146. - I've been doing exceptionally well with eating and working out. I've been eating between 1400 & 1500 calories/day, and hitting the gym hard. However, my weight is up 1 pound. I'm frustrated, but I also know this is a temporary fluctuation. I'm doing all fo the right things, and eventually, the scale will reflect this. My jeans are also fitting better, and I can see a small difference in my face.
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. Wow! That feels like a lot. :-) - I've completed 420 minutes of cardio so far, which means I'm 46% of my goal for January. On track.
3. Find a training plan for my 1/2 marathon, and map out all workouts. - Completed! I've registered for two races, found a suitable training plan, and added all workouts to my calendar. Yeah!
4. Spend $0 on clothes/shoes/makeup for myself & $0 for clothing/shoes for the kids. - On track. I've spent $0 (and actually, have returned things and added money back to the budget.)
5. Complete 10 strength workouts. - I've completed 4 strength workouts. I'm sore as I type this. :-) On track.
6. No artificial sugar in coffee or tea. Evaluate diet to see if I'm consuming other artificial sweetener. - I've completely eliminated sweetner of any kind in my coffee & tea. It's been a shock to the system, but I'm slowly adjusting ot the taste of my coffee with just milk. I also stopped drinking the flavored water at work (I used to mix with Crystal Light and/or flavored Talking Rain).
7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget for two tuition credits for each child. - I used $325 in Christmas money to fund one credit/child. Need to find the extra $325.
8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and complete a monthly spending report. I'd like to also do a minimum of two weekly spending reports in January to check to see if we're on track, highlight any "red" areas, and adjust our spending accordingly. - On track. I'm going to send a biweekly spending report at the end of the week, so we can see how we're doing.
9. Pay an extra $500 on our vacation mortgage, and $500 extra on our primary mortgage. - Done! I received (and subsequently sold) some employeer stock, as well as received dividends from another stock I own. I paid $1000 to our second (primary residence) mortgage, as it currently is at the highest rate.
10. Have a date night with M. Need to look at the calendar & get this planned out. - Date night is scheduled for 1/21!
11. Get together with two friends. - I've been in touch with several friends, but nothing official on the books yet.
12. Determine guardians for the kids, which is the part of our wills that have caused us the most consternation. It's a very difficult decision, there are no easy answers, but it's just irresponsible to avoid the decision. - Ack. Still nothing. I am promising myself to have this conversation with M by the end of the week.

Overall, I'm feeling really good about my progress. How are you doing with your January goals? In big, huge news, we bought a new car with M's bonus. It will be delivered in the next few weeks. We paid cash for it, but our insurance will be going up. I need to decide how we will fund this (considering: selling my car, cutting other categories, etc). M's car is on its last legs, so we don't know if it makes sense to abandon my working car, or just keep it. Our cars vary in size (from a small car good for commuting to a very large SUV best for transporting things back & forth to our vacation house), so we're weighing all the factors.

Menu Plan Monday (1/9/12)

Here are our eats for the week ahead!

• Monday - Leftover Chicken Pastina Casserole
• Tuesday - Penne in Almond Sauce
• Wednesday - Leftovers
• Thursday - M out of town. I'll be eating Ham and Split Pea Soup. This was an extremely easy recipe. I used diced ham, as that's what I had available. Frugal & tasty!
• Friday - We'll be out of town at a water park with my sister & nephews.
• Saturday - M will be out of town. I'll either eat leftovers, or soup.
• Sunday - Roasted Butternut Squash and Bacon Pasta - using up some butternut squash in the freezer

I also need to make a few things to stock the freezer. Here's what I'm thinking (time permitting):

• Sugar spot banana muffins
• Chicken and Black Bean Taquitos - I make these for quick weekend lunches, or when M's out of town & I just need something small for dinner. He's not a fan, so I enjoy these on my own. :-)

What's on your menu for the week?

Weekly Spending Report (1/2-1/8/12)

Here's what we spent this week. Overall, I feel like it was a fairly reasonable week. I made some tweaks to offset the cost of the race registrations (returned some clothes), we ate out using a gift card, I ended up cutting back on a gift from $75 to $50. In addition, I did not buy myself a ski pass when we took the kids skiing yesterday. Even though I really wanted to ski while my son was in lessons, it seemed silly to buy the pass when I knew I would only be able to ski by myself for a few hours. In the end, my son was ready to ride the lift after his lessons, and I sat out while everyone else skied. It sucked, & I'll definitely buy myself a ski pass next time. Oh well, lesson learned.

The areas where we spent more than anticipated:
-My race registrations. I knew this was coming, but didn't budget this for January.
-$320 for the kids for spring baseball. Also knew this was coming, but had no idea the registration happened in January. (This was our first time signing the kids up.)
-M's jeans
-I didn't know we needed a ski pass for N (our youngest) until a few days ago. His ski lessons required it, so it was a must do.

• Monday (1/2):
• $63.29 - Groceries at Costco
• $70.95 - sheet set at Costco
• $5 - tip on lunch out with M. (Had a gift card for the remaining amount)
• Tuesday (1/3):
• $50 - graduation gift for my cousin
• Wednesday (1/4):
• $38.10 - race registration for 10K in March
• $108 - race registration for 1/2 marathon in May
• -$70.95 (returned a different sheet set that was the wrong color)
• Thursday (1/5):
• $1.99 - Safeway for lentils. Hoping to make ham & split pea soup for my lunches.
• $50.88 - Gas
• $1.15 - smoothie at the gym. On gift card. :-)
• Friday (1/6):
• -$29.75 - returned a couple of tops to the Gap
• -$26.27 - returned a jacked & top to Lands End
• -$30.85 - returned a couple of other tops to Lands End
• $320 - registered the boys for spring Little League. I didn't know the registrations were coming up in January, so this is an unbudgeted expense. However, they only had 5 spots left in their age group, so I bit the bullet & registered them. In order to keep the budget on track, I need to find that money from some other spot.
• $1.15 - smoothie at the gym. On gift card.
• Saturday (1/7):
• $23.43 - Safeway for groceries. I had to pick up some snacks/drinks for our mini trip next weekend. We're staying overnight at a water park with my sister & her kids, and it's much cheaper to bring snacks from home.
• $194.91 - jeans for M. He ripped out his old jeans, and applied $100 of Christmas money to this purchase. Still over our budget, but he buys jeans one time per year, and this is his preferred brand.
• Sunday (1/8):
• $12 - ski pass for my little guy.

Total spent for the week = $780.73. A huge improvement over most of our other weeks, like this one, for example! How did you do on your spending for the week?

Tales from the grocery store

We hit Costco yesterday to do our weekly grocery run. Unfortunately, we were out of quite a bit of meat, which adds up so quickly.

Here's how the spending broke out:

Meat/Fish:
Hot Dogs - $12.95
Meatballs - $15.89
Chicken - $11.99
Fish (tilapia) - $14.99
Total meat/fish spend = $55.82, or 44% of the overall spend.

Snacks:
Dip - $6.99 I'm obsessed with using tzatziki sauce as a dip for my vegetables.
Total snack spend = $6.99, or 5% of the overall spend.

Produce:
Bananas - $1.39
Cucumber - $4.29
Pineapple - $2.99
Clementines - $5.99
6 peppers - $6.99
Onion - $3.29
Broccoli - $4.29
Grapes - $8.79
Total produce spend = $38.02, or 30% of the overall spend

Bread:
Tortillas - $4.99
Total bread spend = $4.99, or 4% of the overall spend

Dairy:
Greek yogurt - $6.99
Sliced cheddar cheese - $8.49
Milk - $5.13
Total dairy spend = $20.61, or 16% of the overall spend.

Although we're menu planning, and following our list, minimizing snacks, and trying to focus on whole/healthy foods (for the most part), we're still spending more than our budget. A few suggestions for myself for next time:

• Buy a brick of cheddar and slice it myself. I don't have a cheese slicer & am notoriously bad with cutting myself, so I'll likely invest in a slicer, but should save over the long run.
• I've tried making my own tzatziki sauce, but it's just not the same. Sticking with the store bought for now. The dip really gets me to eat additional servings of vegetables, so I'll keep it.
• I can make my own meatballs. Meatballs are one of the few proteins my four year old will eat, so he frequently eats that while the rest of us eat chicken. I'm going to experiment to see how long it takes me to make/prep a big batch. Meat is expensive, so not entirely sure how much we'll save, but I know it will be healthier.

Other suggestions for cutting back? How do you save money at the store?

Progress

Yesterday I posted my January goal progress, so today I went out of my way to really pick off a few lingering items.

• I returned a few tops that I bought in December, in order to help offset my race registrations, as I was feeling guilty about spending the unbudgeted money. Total of the races were $146.71, and I was able to return $86.87, so a little more than 1/2 way there. My goal this month is to spend no more than our budgeted amount, so I need to see where else I can trim.
• I also added all of my 1/2 marathon training workouts to my calendar, so that checks off the January portion of that goal. (Goal was to find/register for a race, find a training plan, and map out all workouts.) Now the hard work begins . . . the actual running. :-)
• I emailed a couple of friends about getting together this month, so hopefully we'll be able to get together in the next few weeks.
• I booked a date night (sitter) for me + M in a few weeks, so that's now on the books & scheduled.
• And, I had a great run this afternoon (4.5 miles), so I'm feeling great!

I've cut back on wine (for dietary & budgetary purposes) with the exception of weekends, so I'm looking forward to having a glass of wine with M while we cook dinner & relaxing. The boys have soccer on Saturday, and skiing on Sunday. I'm hoping to get in a few runs myself. What are you all up to this weekend? Any fun plans?

I'm working on it!

I'm five days into my January Goals, and here's how I'm doing so far. Color-coordinated by progress. :-)

• My weight has held steady. Not that I expected any significant drop over 5 days. My jeans do feel a smidge loser than they did over the holidays, so there's that. ;-)
• I've completed 200 minutes of cardio, towards my goal of 900 minutes for the month. I'm on track with that.
• I've registered for both a 10K & a 1/2 marathon, as part of my goal for the year to complete a 1/2. I registered last night, as I had a $15 off registration code that was about to expire. It was a chunk of money I wasn't expecting to spend, but I'm happy I'm registered & moving toward my goal. I also found a training plan that I'll be using, so next up for the January portion of this goal is to calendar all of the training plan workouts.
• I've spent $0 on clothes/shoes for myself or the kids, so on track for my goal.
• I've completed 2 of 10 strength workouts for the month. On track.
• Haven't had any artificial sugar. My coffee is boring, but I'm hopeful that my taste will adjust. :-)
• Find an extra $650 for two tuition credits per child (college savings). I used some Christmas money to purchase the first two credits, so I'm halfway there.
• I've been tracking all spending & sticking to the budget, with the exception of my 10K/1/2 marathon registrations. This was poor planning on my part for the budget. It's necessary for part of my larger goal (and to keep me healthy), but I need to find the money in the budget to make me feel like it wasn't a total splurge.
• Pay an extra $500 on our vacation mortgage, and $500 on our primary mortgage. Well, I've paid an extra $35, and I'm expecting a little bit of additional money later in the month to apply towards this.
• I don't have a date night with M on the books. Need to get this planned out, as our month is filling up quickly.
• I haven't gotten together with two friends, or even reached out to make plans. Need to get this taken care of.
• I have not even broached the guardianship conversation yet with M. It's not exactly a light, pre-coffee conversation in the morning. "So, who do you want to raise our children in the event of our untimely demise?. . . " I know, I just need to do it!

All in all, I'm feeling really good about my initial progress, and want to keep up my efforts! Hopefully I'll be reporting in that I've at least started to tackle the "red" items on my January list. More to come!

How are you doing with your January goals? Any quick wins? :-)

2012 Budget Planning

The new year is officially in gear! I've been doing a good job of sticking to the plan, and I just heard the official numbers for our vacation house mortgage, which means I can move forward with my plans to adjust our 2012 budget. In addition, I'll need to adjust the budget in September based on the boys switching schools/grades and a few other things.

I'm working to tighten the budget so we can stick to it, and use irregular income (stock option vests, bonuses, stock awards, etc) for our planned goals for the year: boys college accounts, paying down our mortgages, and saving $5,000 or so to have an architect come up with extensive remodel plan for our house.

Here are the upcoming changes for 2012:

• We just refinanced our vacation home from a 30 year to a 15 year mortgage. This fits with our longer term plan of paying that house off within the next five or so years, but it means a bigger monthly payment. Estimated payment increase of $615/month.
• In September, my oldest son will be going to first grade, which means we will no longer be reimbursing the state $330/month for full day Kindergarten. We will still be paying $395/month in after care, as school gets out at 2:30, and I work until 4. Estimated savings = $330/month.
• In September, my younger son will be off to Kindergarten. *tear* Although we have to pay the $330/month + the cost of after care ($395/month), it's still a bit of a savings over preschool. Estimated savings = $250/month
• I have an opportunity at work to invest 15% of my net monthly salary in our company stock options. We get an immediate 15% discount & can exercise quarterly, so I'm bumping up my stock investment from 10-15%. The money will be coming back (with the 15% return) quarterly, but it impacts my monthly cash flow & I need to budget for it. Reduction in cash flow = $400/month. (This is estimated, as I don't have a firm number for my net pay in 2012.)

As you can see, I need to come up with some budget cuts. Especially between now & September. In September, things will ease up based on my childcare savings.

Categories I'm looking at for cuts:

• Liquor. We spend too much on this category. We frequently bring mixed drinks to parties, & this is typically $40+. We'll be drinking wine only on weekends/special events, which will also help to cut back. Savings = $50/month
• Clothing/shoes for me and the kids. I have a line item budget of $1000 for the year. I'm hoping to trim this down even more, but if we stick to the plan, savings = $20/month.
• Gifts. We've cut back in the category substantially, but could still afford to trim a bit. For example, I'll be using my Toys R Us Reward (accumulated over the holidays & from various shower gifts I purchased) to buy both kids their birthday gifts. Savings = $25/month.
• Personal. This is used to cover hair cuts, the occasional pedicure for me, etc. M bought be a large gift card for Christmas, so I should be able to use that for my pedicures. Savings = $25/month.
• House. We really don't need anything for the house at the moment, so I'm cutting this category back a bit. Savings = $25/month.
• Dining out. M & I primarily use this money for the once/month date night, as well as a once/month lunch date. However, we have a few gift cards we can use over the next couple of months, so trimming this back a bit. Savings = $50/month.
• Gas. Based on my tracking, we're spending less than expected on gas, & I can cut this back. Savings = $50/month.

Based on these cuts (totaling $245/month), I can close the gap on our increased mortgage payments. But, I will likely need to dip into savings for the other $370/month until September, where things will pretty much be offset. I think my plan will be to keep one of my first quarterly company stock purchases & save it to offset the next six months. The numbers should just about even out. This plan really, really requires us to stick to our budget!!

Are you adjusting your budget for 2012? What's changing & how are you making cuts to fit the budget? And, a tracking question for you. For those of you who do no spend days, do you count paying bills as "spending"? If your power bill comes in, do you just wait to pay it until you've had another "spend" day (e.g. went to the grocery store)? It seems artificial to shuffle the bill paying. Or, are you considering a no spend day when you don't spend on variable expenses: gas, food, dining out, entertainment, etc?

Goals for January

I love the long-term horizon for yearly goals, but need monthly goals to keep myself on track & focused in the near term. Given my 2012 goals, here's what's up for January.

1. Lose 4 lbs in January, bringing my weight to 146.
2. Complete 900 minutes of cardio. Wow! That feels like a lot. :-)
3. Find a training plan for my 1/2 marathon, and map out all workouts.
4. Spend $0 on clothes/shoes/makeup for myself & $0 for clothing/shoes for the kids.
5. Complete 10 strength workouts.
6. No artificial sugar in coffee or tea. Evaluate diet to see if I'm consuming other artificial sweetener.
7. Find an "extra" $650 in the budget for two tuition credits for each child.
8. Track all spending, stick to budget, and complete a monthly spending report. I'd like to also do a minimum of two weekly spending reports in January to check to see if we're on track, highlight any "red" areas, and adjust our spending accordingly.
9. Pay an extra $500 on our vacation mortgage, and $500 extra on our primary mortgage.
10. Have a date night with M. Need to look at the calendar & get this planned out.
11. Get together with two friends.
12. Determine guardians for the kids, which is the part of our wills that have caused us the most consternation. It's a very difficult decision, there are no easy answers, but it's just irresponsible to avoid the decision.

And, that's all! :-) How about you? What do you have slated for January?

2011 Goals in Review

Although I wasn't blogging at the start of 2011, I still thought it would be helpful to focus on my (extremely LONG) list of goals & the progress that was/wasn't made. Here goes!

1. No shopping for clothes, shoes, or makeup for myself. Oh, the irony of this one, given the December numbers I just posted. To be fair, I spent $0 until mid-April, then things fell apart. I'm trying to be smarter with my goal this year, and I'm instead allocating $500 for myself to spend for the entire year.
2. Payoff my 401K loan by 9/15/11. Done. This was paid off in the spring. It wasn't even on the radar that we would also be able to pay off M's 401K loan this year. In total, we paid off almost $90,000 between the two. This money was used to buy down an enormous refinance that will benefit us for the entire length of our mortgage. It was spendy, but totally worth it.
3. Complete 4500 minutes of cardio. Blew this one away. I completed 8700 minutes of cardio.
4. Complete 1500 minutes of strength training. Honestly, I stopped tracking, but I'm sure I was no where near this. I started running & stopped lifting for most of the year. My goal for 2012 is around number of strength workouts, which I think will be more helpful (and easier to track).
5. Complete 1000 minutes of flexiblity/stretching. Fail. Stopped tracking & barely did any.
6. Organize one room in the house per month. I did this for 9ish months, but stopped. I'm left with the major tasks/rooms now. :-)
7. Achieve goal weight of 130. I did lose weight in 2011 (at one point, my total loss for the year was 20 lbs), but I netted out at 13 pounds for the year. Still focused on this goal for 2012.
8. Minimum of one date per month with M. Did this! And loved it. This is on my 2012 list again.
9. Get together with two friends per month. Did this, and loved it as well! It's easy for me to let months go by without seeing my friends, so it was so nice to make this a priority & schedule time to myself.
10. Take a photography class. Fail. Didn't do this - I'd still love to. My photo skills are atrocious.
11. Create wills/trusts/guardianship. Fail. This is just terrible, & is on my immediate list of things to do in 2012.
12. Get additional life insurance. Fail. I'm embarrassed to even explain this, but I wanted to be at my goal weight to secure a great rate, and obviously never go there. This is a must do for 2012.
13. Create a list of 25 favorite meals. This is an ongoing work in progress. M is *very* picky, so finding 25 meals that he loves is no small task. I do have a list of 10, and will keep working on this. 
14. Learn to bake bread. Failed. I did try & still would love to master this!
15. Take a pilates class. Sadly, never did this, but I did swim laps (many laps), so I'm proud of myself for branching out a bit.
16. Run a 5K. Major success. I've had this on my yearly resolutions for at least four years. I finally bit the bullet & promised myself I would actually do this in 2011. And much to my surprise, I ran a 5K, fell in love with running, & started training for a half marathon. I broke a bone in my foot in May, so I was unable to continue running for six months, but I'm back & running again!
17. Make a 2010 family photo album. Kind of  - all the pictures are uploaded & ready. Now it's just a matter of ordering.
18. Make a 2011 family photo album. Same as above - just need to do this.
19. Take the boys to Disneyland. We opted not to do this in 2011. We did a ton of fun trips, both with the kids & with my parents/family.
20. Read 12 books. Done! I read 22 books last year & stopped tracking mid-September.
21. Relearn to ski. Kind of? I took lessons, but got snowed out for at least half of them, had kid drama another weekend, and I'm pretty sure I'm about where I started last year, in terms of skill. 
22. Teach our older son to ski. Done! He's skiing blue/green, and he's 5.5. Definitely more advanced than I expected for his age.
23. Introduce our younger son to skiing. Done! He's comfortable riding the magic carpet up & skiing down the kid runs by himself.
24. Consciously consume. Well, I've done better in the last year than I ever have in the past, but it's definitely not even close to as good as it could be. Room for improvement in 2012!
25. Have 50 no spend day. Hmm, I stopped tracking this early on in the year. I'll assume it was a fail.

As you can see, I was grossly optimistic last year & created way too many goals. Jack of all trades, master of none. :-) My list is much more feasible this year. How did you do with your 2011 goals?

December & 2011 Net Worth Update

I close out each month with a net worth update, and this will also serve as my end of the year net worth update.

Net worth on 12/1/11 - $739,641
Net worth on 1/1/12 - $807,149

An increase of $67,508 in our net worth. The big jump for this month was paying off M's 401K loan. This reduced our liabilities & immediately showed up in our assets (back in our 401K portfolio), so it was a double win.

Although I wasn't blogging at the time, here's a quick look back at last year's number

Net worth on 1/1/11 - $790,988.

We're up slightly from our net worth at this same time last year, but not by much. This is due to losing A LOT in our 401K portfolios, regular investments, as well as decreases in our property value. Our net worth was as high as $940,000 in 2011, but I'm happy that we ended the year up from last year at the same time. Baby steps, in this market. :-)

December financial wrap up

Putting this together hurt a bit. December was a *very* spendy month. Our spendiest ever, by my calculations. . . Executive summary - we overspent, and the biggest offenders were: our plumbing bill (over $1K), our refinance of our second mortgage (planned, and slightly under my original estimation but still counts towards our "spending), which was close to $2K, and my pre-purchase of $1000 of gift cards to the gym we belong to, in order to get $200 of extra gift cards. Without these purchases, we were right at where we'd like to be for the month.

Without further ado:

First up, a summary.

• Our regular income for December was $14,088
• We received an $800 refund from our mortgage holder, as part of our refinance 

Total income for the month was $14,888.

Total spend for the month was $18,340. This is approximately $3,190 over our intended spend for the month, and obviously more than we made. That's never a good sign.


We spent less than planned on the following categories:

• Gas - We budgeted $550, as our December involved lots of holiday gatherings & visits out of town. We spent $390.
• Vacation house utilities - I expected to have to pay our yearly maintenance fee, but haven't seen the bill yet. This means that we were under for December, but I'll need to bump up the budget for January. Budgeted $650 and spent $176.
• Primary residence utilities - We budgeted $675 and spent $660, so I was very close on my predictions for how much the power & water would be.
• Child care - We budgeted $2000, knowing that  in addition to our standard monthly child care bill, we would also need to enroll the kids in one week of winter camp ($180/child for 4 days). My parents ended up watching the kids for us for a few days, which saved us some money. Total spend was $1645.
• Health - I estimated that a doctor's visit (having my foot x-rayed to find out what was going on with my break) would cost $50, but it came it at $31.
• Car - Our standard monthly budget is $50, and we spent $39.
• Boys (misc.) - this is for the random items we buy them, admission to events, etc. December was filled with plenty of activities & Christmas gifts, so we didn't spend anything in this category. Budgeted = $50, spent $0.
• Cleaning - we spent less than expected, as a $60 charge hasn't posted for a cleaning service we had done last week.  Budget was $395, spent $320. I'll adjust next month's budget accordingly.
• Vacation house refinance & mortgage payment - budget was $4000 (I had to estimate closing costs) & we ended up paying $3949.

We spent as planned in the following categories:

• Primary mortgage - we spent the $4800 as planned on this.
• Insurance - we spent $199, as planned.

We spent more than planned in the following categories:

• Groceries - my goal was to spend $550, and we spent $741. I forgot about an expensive sandwich tray we needed to bring to a party, dishes for several other events, etc. We would have hit our grocery budget without these expenses, so it's worth noting that for a standard month, $550 may be do-able.
• Dining out - we spent $226, vs the $150 I had budgeted. This was pretty much blown by a few meals at the airports waiting for flights.
• Boys lessons - not sure where I should have put this cost, but we ended up having to buy our oldest son new ski boots, so I added it here. Budget was $565 (swimming lessons for the next quarter, for two kids), and we spent $674. The good news is that I can sell his old boots, so that should help offset some of the cost.
• Boys clothes - budget was $0, and I spent $326. Some of that was necessary (new winter coat, new shoes for both kids, etc), but much of this was me just taking advantage of "good deals", which is silly. Hence my goal of 2012 to limit clothing for the kids to $500.
• Clothes for me - budget was $0, and I spent $579. Out of all of the spending for the month, this one is truly embarrassing. I was in the malls way too often for Christmas shopping, & shopped like it was my job. Again, see above for my 2012 goal. No excuses, just a total failure.
• Gifts - budget was $0, and we spent $101. I know that $50 was a recurring charge for a service I bought my father for a birthday years ago, but all I know is that the other $51 was spent at Fred Meyer. Maybe a gift card for a baby shower gift?
• Travel - budget was $0, but we ended up getting an opportunity to take a last minute (adults-only) getwaway to Las Vegas & spent $374, including parking at the airport. This was the full price of the trip, which included two night's hotel, fancy meals, & a couples massage. It was a steal of a deal!
• Personal - budget was $250 (meant to include my occasional haircut, haircut for the boys + M, etc) & we spent $1109. This was a conscious overspend, as the gym where we take the kids for the occasional emergency day care, where I get my hair cut, etc offered a buy one $500 gift card, get $100 free. I bought two. I'm hopeful this will be enough to last all year, and plan to use one of the $100 gift cards for my birthday for a massage. :-)
• House - the budget was $50, and we spent $1312. We had a water leak outside of our house, and the vast majority of the spending in this category was for the plumber bill. Fun times.
• Liquor - once again, this bill surprises me. I should have known that December was going to be high - we were in charge of holiday drinks for several of the parties we attended (pomegranate martinis, because you can pre-mix!), M participated in a holiday beer tasting, and we stocked up on tax free wine when we were in Oregon last week. Budget was $40 & we spent $256.
• Boys college - we had some extra cash & added $326 to their college accounts. Earlier in the month. Obviously I should have waited to see where the month was going to end before doing that. Hindsight & all. Budget was $0, and we spent $326.
• Christmas - budget was $50, but we spent $181. I ended up getting $300 or so back from people two weeks ago, but it got mixed in with my Las Vegas spending money & don't know exactly how to offset this.

I've now officially tracked our spending for four months, & what an eye opener it's been! I don't know how we managed before I tracked, estimated & budgeted for the upcoming months, and make tweaks based on anticipated spending. Do you track your expenses? How do you do it? I'm boring & use Excel.

The twelve goals of 2012

I'm kicking off 2012 off right by creating my list of 12 goals for the years. I'll break these out into monthly goals as well, but wanted to get these posted. I'll also be wrapping up my 2011 goals soon!

1. Achieve and maintain my goal weight of 130 lbs. I have 20 lbs to go, as I'm starting at 150.
2. Complete 10,000 minutes of cardio. My goal was 4500 for 2011, and I crushed this goal in 2012 (ended with 8700 minutes). I want to go big with this goal. :-)
3. Run a 1/2 marathon. I was fully trained for my first 1/2 marathon before I broke my foot in May. I'm starting from scratch, but want to get back to it.
4. Spend less than $500 on clothing for myself and less than $500 for shoes/clothes for the kids. I shop for entertainment, and it's totally unnecessary.
5. Complete 100 strength training workouts.
6. Give up artificial sugar. (Mostly, the Splenda in my coffee & tea.) This will be TOUGH for me. :-)
7. Reach 50% of our goal for the boys college tuition GET accounts, for both kids. This will take about $12,000.
8. Track all spending, stick to our budget, and complete monthly spending reports.
9. Pay off $50,000 on our vacation house mortgage and $100,000 on our primary residence mortgage.
10. Have one date night per month with M.
11. Get together with two friends/month, and plan a minimum of one girls only vacation this year.
12. Meet with an attorney & get our life insurance, wills, guardianship, trusts, etc squared away. This is a MUST do this year.

I've loved reading all of your 2012 goals! Do you have a mix of personal & financial goals, or more than 12? Last year I had close to 30, and it just became ridiculous to track. :-)

Happy 2012!

Hope you had a wonderful New Year's Eve with friends & family. We had dinner with the kids, then watched an extremely bad movie (Friends with Benefits, with Mila Kunis & Justin Timberlake) after the kids were asleep. M made the most amazing Persian dinner - I thought I was going to have to unbutton my pants! Yum. :-)

I thought I would recap my December goals, as a kick start to my year in review & plans for 2012!

These were my December goals:

1. Lose 5 lbs - get weight back to 144 pounds. - I started out the month at 152 pounds, and ended at 150. While not my goal, I'm excited that I lost/maintained over the holidays!
2. Complete 500 minutes of cardio  - I blew this one out of the water & completed 777 minutes of cardio. Yes!
3. Complete 8 strength workouts - I did this! I did exactly 8 cardio workouts, and dragged myself to the gym yesterday to complete the final one. :-)
4. Plan spring break trip - We may be buying a new car in the next week or so, which means our spring break plans are on hold for a bit.
5. Plan mid-winter break trip - I think I have a solid plan for this, but need to review with the other players (my sister & husband). :-) This status is unchanged since the beginning of December, so fail.
6. Bake Christmas cookies with the kids & take them to look at holiday lights. - We did both! 
7. Track all spending - Just wrapping up the December spending report, so done!
8. Monthly expenditures total less than $15,000, with the exception of using the bonus money to pay off the $35K 401K loan. - Major fail. December was a very expensive month. Full financial breakout to come.
9. Keep grocery bill to $600 - Fail - we spent $763. I forgot that we would be bringing an expensive sandwich tray to Christmas Eve ($75), we were bringing expensive drinks to several parties, and I was in charge of bringing various dishes to school events. Looking back, this goal was unrealistic.
10. Get together with two friends - Done - I got together with a friend from high school (for the first in several years!) & met another work friend for coffee.

How did you do on your December goals? Any big wins or failures along the way? Are you glad the month is done, and we're starting fresh in January? I know I am! :-)