Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend. Mine was busy and a lot of fun — I went bridesmaid dress shopping for a friend’s wedding, spent time with friends, and started planning a couples’ trip to New Orleans for August. If you have hotel suggestions or must-see places in New Orleans, I’d love to hear them.
We haven’t spent much time house-hunting this past week. Our current home isn’t ready to list, and we’re not in a rush to buy. We like our house and have other financial priorities for now. That said, if the perfect house appears, we’ll move quickly — we’re realizing the ideal home might be hard to find.
We’re also considering buying a lakefront house. Has anyone lived on a lake and noticed downsides we should be aware of? I’m sure there are trade-offs I haven’t thought of yet.
I’m planning an update to my student loan payoff plan that I posted a few months ago. It’s unlikely we’ll pay off the loans entirely this month: doing so would significantly reduce our emergency fund and make me uncomfortable. That said, I estimate there’s about a 99% chance the loans will be fully paid off by the end of April.
Spending
We didn’t do much spending this past weekend—I can’t even think of any big purchases. We do plan to shop for new spring clothes for W, since most of his recent purchases have been work attire. I expect we’ll spend around $200–$300 on that.
Have you heard of Save1? Here’s a brief overview:
Save1 provides coupons and deals for many retailers. When you use a coupon or deal through their site, the company earns a commission and donates a portion of it to provide a meal to a child in need. It’s a simple way to save money and help others at the same time.
The process is straightforward: Save1 earns a commission when you make a purchase through their links, and they allocate part of that commission to donations. It’s an easy way to shop, save, and give back.
Extra Income (does not include salary from our jobs)
So far in March I’ve received approximately $1,033 in payments, plus $325 rent from my sister, totaling $1,358 for the first nine days of the month. It’s a slow start, but I’m still waiting on several payments, and some are on net-45 or net-60 terms, which should bring March’s total back to normal.
Affiliate income continues to perform well, and I’m grateful I invested time into growing it. I have larger plans for this income stream and hope to see it keep increasing, even though the payment delays (45–60 days) are a bit of a drawback. How’s your affiliate income progressing? Are you trying to grow that area?
My friend and I are still developing a business plan, but we’re stuck choosing a name. We’ve brainstormed for a long time and haven’t settled on one we both love.
Posts from last week
- $5,983 in February Extra Income and Goals
- Is a Business Degree a Waste?
Food
We’ve been sticking to meal plans and doing great with eating at home. We did go out recently but used a gift card my sister gave me, so the meal was essentially free. We also went out for drinks with friends over the weekend and kept the bill under $75, which we were happy about. How are you doing with your food budget? If you tried any tasty recipes recently, please share them—I’m always looking for new ideas to add to future meal plans.
Wedding
I haven’t made much progress on wedding planning—definitely behind on this! We need to meet with W’s family and start organizing things. That said, going to bridesmaid dress shopping got me excited: I fell in love with a few wedding dresses while we were looking around.
Being healthy
I’ve been working on healthier habits lately. As shown in the photo at the top of the post, I’m focusing on eating more fruits and vegetables. For snacks, I’m cutting down on unhealthy options (though I still love donuts and chocolate-covered pretzels) and switching to plates of blueberries, strawberries, and other fruit. A recent trip to Aldi got me 12 kiwis, two boxes of cherry tomatoes, two boxes of blueberries, bananas, and apples for under $10—such a win for affordability and health.
I’ve also been running a lot, aiming for at least a couple of miles each day. With warmer weather approaching, I plan to run outside with my dog more often. My goal is to get healthier overall—lose about 10 pounds of fat and build more muscle so I look and feel like myself again.