I love this feeling!

I just paid off another credit card! I feel so relieved. This spend freeze is so totally worth it! Looks like I won’t be going to the Loft for quite a while, but I’m actually very OK with that!

Credit card count in May = 6, mostly maxed out cards between me and the Ginger

Credit card count in June = 4, consistently being lowered each week

My next goal is to have one more card paid off by the end of August! At this rate I’m very confident I can achieve that!!

Home Spa Day

So I’ve been thinking, what can I do to embarrass myself even more…I’ve already shared my issue with debt to the internet world, how about I add a terrible photo. Well here it is. But as awful as I may look, I feel great now!

Pregnancy acne is a very real thing, I’ve come to realize. It’s no fun. My normal go-to option for a bad breakout is to buy those facial scrubs in the grocery store that make my face burn. But they all have salicylic acid and benzoyl peroxide in them and, it’s recommended to avoid those while pregnant. My other option is to get a facial at a spa…which I did last month and shelled out $85+ tip. Not my best move while on a spend freeze, but I was feeling pretty gross considering that I still didn’t look pregnant, just fat, and my face looked like a 13-year-old.

With this latest breakout I decided to look at some other options. My diet is mostly consisting of organic produce and lean meats, with an occasional ice cream thrown in. Plus, I’ve been drinking so much water lately it’s ridiculous. So I don’t think my diet is the cause of the breakout…just the normal pregnancy hormones. With the help of my mom, we put together a little home spa day to see if that helped. If not, at least it would be relaxing. We tried two recipes for homemade facial scrubs that worked together, creating the Fire & Ice Facial. It felt amazing, and it was all made from items at home so I didn’t have to worry about harmful chemicals entering my body. Still waiting to see how well my acne clears up, but all in all it was a very relaxing time. My sister even painted my nails so I got a true spa day.

Home Spa Day: Start with a make-up free face, then use the Spiced Sugar Scrub, followed by the Cooling Cucumber Mask (modified slightly from a recipe in Woman’s World)

Spiced Sugar Scrub Recipe:

    -2 Tablespoons brown sugar

    -1 Tablespoon honey

    -1 Tablespoon lime juice

    -½ teaspoon cinnamon

    -½ teaspoon paprika

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Microwave the mixture for 10 seconds. Apply the scrub over the entire face (watch the eye area because that paprika won’t feel great in there). Massage with fingertips using a small circular motion. Finish by rinsing face with warm water and pat dry. Move onto the Cooling Cucumber Mask next.

Cooling Cucumber Mask Recipe:

    -½ cup cucumber, chopped

    -¼ cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)

    -1 teaspoon powdered milk

    -2 teaspoons aloe vera (I used this from a plant, rather than buying the processed gel)

Combine all ingredients in a blender until a smooth paste has formed. Place mask in the refrigerator or freezer until comfortably chilled. Gently smooth the mask over your face using your fingertips. Allow to soothe your skin for 20 minutes, then rinse with cool water and pat dry. (During the 20 minutes, I put cucumbers on my eyes to relax even more!)

Budget Decorating

I suppose I’m in nesting mode, because I want to do nothing other than clean and decorate! I’m so excited that the Ginger and I have started the rearranging process. We have the new office finished (mostly) and that means the next project is the nursery! 

We rent a three bedroom house and have decided to switch up the rooms. Our former office will become the nursery and the guest room is now the office. We added a futon that I bought used at a yard sale. It’s in great condition and can double as a bed for our out-of-town guests. Other than the futon, we only spent money on paint. We chose grey for the walls and bright white for the trim. The Ginger’s growing scarf collection is our feature wall, making this his sort of “man cave” since he doesn’t actually have one right now. It’s not how I would normally choose to decorate but it makes him happy and does add a lot of color to the room, plus it saves money on artwork! In time I’ll add a few things that I have to buy… a new rug, floating shelves for above the desk, and curtains. I still have a few projects to finish in there as well, including hanging our diplomas and possibly painting the ugly file cabinet. For right now I’m so pleased with the room. It’s very useful and it displays a lot of the Ginger’s sport memorabilia (it’s not going to waste sitting in the basement).  

Cost for this room (white paint will also be used for all the trim and doors in the house): 

Futon $30, Paint (Valspar Paint and Primer in One 1 gallon white and 1 quart grey) $40

My First Bump Shot

Alright, so there’s not really a baby bump yet…just my gut…but I need a before pic and this is it! I am so looking forward to actually looking pregnant. I can’t believe that in a few short weeks I’ll be able to feel the baby! Seeing the ultrasound and then hearing the heartbeat made this all feel so much more real, but that bump will really mean I’m pregnant. That might sound a bit dumb, but I guess seeing is believing? 

Now let’s hope my attempt a being trendy with oversized shirts pays off. I’m hoping to not have to buy too many maternity clothes. We’ll see how that works out! 

Free Summertime Fun

Outdoor concerts are the best…make them free and it’s the perfect night. I really want to make the most of this summer on a budget! Although I’ve failed to be frugal many times so far, in the area of concerts, we’ve done pretty well! 

The Three Rivers Arts Festival is held yearly at the beginning of June in Pittsburgh, celebrating artists, musicians and fried foods. While I did partake in a funnel cake and lemonade, that’s where my spending stopped. I traveled to Downtown Pittsburgh for a total of five nights for the 10-day long festival! The free concerts where amazing. Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros were the big draw as the opener, with thousands of people in the crowd, but it slowed down after that. The Ginger and I got to relax in our beach chairs in Point State Park and listen to Cello Fury, Lisa Hannigan, and our favorite, Glen Hansard! Glen Hansard, who we’ve paid to see twice in the past, played for over two hours! Not only did we have the best time out with friends, but we didn’t feel like we were missing out on anything by not spending money. 

#BabyColePGH

My beautiful baby at 10 weeks! I love the pointed toe! And in the second picture the nose is so perfect!

Yard Sales Rock!

Although I’ve been looking at new cribs online and so ready to just say, “let’s charge it!” I’ve been really good about waiting. And I’m so glad that I did. A thrifty friend of mine suggested that I hit the Highland Park yard sales because every year she always notices baby stuff for sale. She told me that it was a fantastic neighborhood yard sale, but that didn’t prepare me for the amazingness that it was!

The entire neighborhood really does get into it, with a map and description of what each house has for sale. My parents and I only hit about four or five streets before we had our cars filled and had to make a trip to my parent’s house for my dad to get his truck!  

I ended up spending less than $100 dollars and got the following: 

-Jenny Lind DaVinci Crib (similar) $20 plus the artwork

-ABC’s artwork for the nursery 

-Disney Bouncer (similar) $10

-Rock ‘n’ Play Sleeper (similar) $10

-Futon (for the new office/guest bedroom) $30

 I could not believe my luck! I had been really hoping to get a Jenny Lind crib, too! I got one for an amazing price, and all I have to do is re-paint it. It also came with a mattress, but I think we’ll replace that one with a new organic one (besides, what are registries for it not to get a few new things). At first I was a bit wary about purchasing such an important piece of furniture used, but this one was in such good shape and the mom selling it really put me at ease with her explanation of it. Plus, I had my parents with me and no matter how old I get I will always value their opinion on things like this (they approved).

The futon was another great buy! We are converting our spare bedroom into the new office, but since we have so many out-of-town friends we still want a place for them to sleep. The futon is in great condition and even matches the desk we already have! The bouncer and sleeper both looked brand new! I’m sure they will both get a lot of use!

I love that even on this spending freeze I still got to shop. I’m still going to have to buy things, but I did it in a much smarter way! I could have easily spent $500 on everything, but instead I spent only $70! 

Whomp, Whomp Failure

Well, the June totals are in. And it’s not good. I sort of stopped paying attention. I went to the Loft because I felt fat (it didn’t help and trying on clothes made it worse…didn’t stop me from spending money though). The Ginger and I went on a camping canoe trip with friends…and charged it. I didn’t feel like cooking and we ate out or ordered in more than once.

I feel like a failure. I shouldn’t be shocked, but I am. I have to be more focused and put more effort into this spend freeze. But I did anticipate that at some point I would mess up (just not after less than a month), so now I have to pick up where I left off and learn from my mistakes. I have so many bad habits to unlearn. It’s going to take a while but I just have to keep myself motivated. I don’t want to blame pregnancy, but I’m going to. I’ve been really tired and sick, resulting in less motivation to shop for food, cook, pack lunches,exercise,etc.

So it happened, and I’m moving on. The five year debt free plan can still work, but I have to be diligent. Here we go!

Starting Out

So far in the past five days I have avoided Target, The Loft (despite sooo many sales!), and the grocery store. But there have been a few set backs already.

I ate out twice while freelancing. I had two 16-hour days going straight from job to job. On Friday and Saturday I ate out at one job, but packed lunch for the second job. Luckily, my pay for the freelance jobs include a small lunch stipend. I think the cheap meals of fried rice and Subway were OK because of the stipend. That’s how I’m going to look at it at least. However, I will try to be more prepared by packing better lunches in the future.

My big unexpected purchase was $15 for Sea Bands to help with nausea. I’ve been feeling slightly miserable lately. I know that’s probably partly attributed to the double shifts I have been working. Unfortunately, it’s a great month for freelance media and I want to earn as much as I can now while I still have the time to work crazy hours. I should have done more research on the Sea Bands though, because since buying them I read that some believe they produce only a placebo effect. I guess imagining they are working is better than nothing. With playoff hockey and arena football, ain’t nobody got time fo morning sickness!

Working away now to save for later! 

Last Supper

The Ginger and I enjoyed our last night pre-spend fast with dinner out and a fantastic concert by one of our favorite bands, The Black Keys. 

Attending the concert last night really got me thinking about how much my husband will miss going to shows. I know the spend freeze is about cutting out things now for a better use of our money later, but it’s still hard. The Ginger works in radio and up until a few years ago was on-air playing his favorite music. I don’t want him to miss out on shows like this. 

Luckily, our town has a huge range of great free concerts. Every year I pick out concerts we want to attend, put it on the calendar and then end up forgetting about it. I guess since the concerts are free I don’t give them the same importance as ones I pay for. What a dumb thought process! These are free shows with great artists. From now on I have to pretend that I bought the tickets so that I don’t forget! 

Already on the line up for this summer, Glen Hansard, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Blind Boys of Alabama. That doesn’t even include local music! I can tell already that this is going to be a great summer! 

Most cities offer great free concerts, it’s just a matter of finding them! A quick google search and you could have just saved yourself over a hundred bucks! 

On a pregnancy note, I experienced my fist bout of “morning” sickness yesterday….at the concert! We had a fabulous dinner at a new restaurant in Market Square, but by the time I got to the show I was headed straight for the bathroom to flush away the money we just spent on dinner. I suppose that’s going to help save money…no point spending money on nice dinners out if I’m just going to throw it up anyways. (TMI, sorry)