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Well, Christmas is finished for another year. You may be thinking of taking down all your decorations but dreading the mess that your storage area becomes. Or what about next Christmas when you can’t find the specific decorations you’re looking for?
Look no further, I’ve got you covered with this handy Christmas Decoration Storage Inventory printable! Simply print out a page or two (depending on how many boxes you have) and get to work filling the paper out as you put away decorations. Label the boxes with the corresponding number that you have marked on the papers. For example, on the paper, box #1 includes all the Christmas lights. Be sure to label the actual box with #1 too!
Print your Christmas Decoration Storage Inventory printable here.
Can you believe that we are at the very last day of 2016 already? For me, the year just flew by! 2016 was full of lessons, laughter and exciting things. (New baby, new home.)
Now that 2017 is nearly here, what are you hoping to see happen in the new year?
Anyways, here are the interesting links I came across on my travels around the web this week! Enjoy and have a great weekend!
Here are some posts you may have missed from Simply Frugal this Week:
As you may know, I did a month-long No Spend Challenge in 2008 (before Simply Frugal began) which impacted my spending habits to this day. I obviously found it quite helpful financially in the long term.
Still, I struggled with the idea of leading a No Spend Challenge because in reality, the way to a solid financial foundation is not to stop spending, but to learn to spend responsibly.
As we move forward in preparation for the 28 Day challenge in January, I thought it was important to share my heart and ideas behind the challenge.
First of all, keep in mind that I don't think spending on the things you want is bad but, a No Spend Challenge may be just what you need, to realize your desire for stuff is just that, a want, not a necessity. While it may not eliminate any debt you have, it could possibly be the reality check you need, to turn your spending habits around. (I definitely found this true during my experience!)
My hopes of what you'll get out of the challenge:
Throughout the month, as the name suggests, you'll have to cut out or limit unnecessary spending and learn how to say no to the things you want.
On that note, we might as well get into the No Spend "Rules":
For any sort of challenge there needs to be a set of rules or guidelines in place, right? For this No Spend Challenge, I've got one rule:
No spending on anything that isn't absolutely essential.
Of course, the challenge is a No Spend Challenge, but it's impossible to cut out all your spending. Bills still need to be paid and mouths still have to be fed! But in January, we're going to be trying our hardest to live well, while using what we already have and being creative with our time and resources!
For our family, that means paying our regular bills, as well as purchasing some groceries. We have quite a few things in our pantry and freezer so we'll most likely get away with buying only fresh products like milk, eggs, cheese and fruit & vegetables. We will also most likely have some expenses to do with the purchase of our new home. (Think lawyer fees and other exciting stuff :P)
No spending on anything that isn't essential will look different to each family. Here are a few examples of expenses you can cut out for the month:
What do you think is going to be the hardest thing to let go of?
Are you on board?
Since this guided No Spend Challenge is over, I have the perfect planner for you if you are interested in doing your own No Spend Challenge! It will allow you to start your No Spend Challenge whenever you want.
It's a 45 page planner that guides you through the details of what a No Spend Challenge is and how to do one. It's full of helpful printables and ideas that will help you plan your challenge, so you don't fail. Upon your successful completion of the challenge, you will see lasting changes to your financial future.
Since this guided No Spend Challenge is over, I have the perfect planner for you if you are interested in doing your own No Spend Challenge! It will allow you to start your No Spend Challenge whenever you want.
It's a 45 page planner that guides you through the details of what a No Spend Challenge is and how to do one. It's full of helpful printables and ideas that will help you plan your challenge, so you don't fail. Upon your successful completion of the challenge, you will see lasting changes to your financial future.
Originally written in January 2017.
Normally in January, I like to spend the whole month decluttering and organizing. Many of you join me every year. (Thank you!) But this year feels different and my desire is to blog authentically which means I'm going to write according to what's going on in my life.
I've mentioned a couple of times that we've recently purchased a new home and will be moving our family at the beginning of March. This is so so exciting for us as we've outgrown our current place and have run out of ways to make it work for us. It's time to move on.
Since I should be packing rather than doing a big organizing overhaul, I'm doing something different in January.
I like to think that we were able to purchase our new home (and put more than 50% down on it) thanks to the choices our family makes every day as well as using the lessons we learned many years ago after a No Spend Month. Because of that first No Spend Challenge we choose to live our life, well, Simply Frugal(ly). We just don't spend a lot of money. However, when we do spend, it's important to us (a family vacation for example) and we always get a deal on whatever it is we are purchasing, of course 😉
I'm sure that there are many of you that are nodding your heads and thinking that you live the same way. On the other hand, there may be others of you that desire to live that way but need to change some habits to make it happen.
Buying a house, paying off debt, taking a family vacation, whatever your motivator may be, a No Spend Challenge is a fantastic way to get you to take a good hard look at your spending habits.
In our case, it's just really good to revisit our spending habits using a No Spend Challenge every once in a while. After all, life has a way of making me a bit careless with my spending...especially if the four year old is being persistent and my willpower to put my foot down is just not there that day. 🙂
All this to say, I will being doing a No Spend Challenge here at Simply Frugal. I'd like to call it: 28 Days to Being Simply Frugal.
I'd love for you to join me!
My hope for this challenge is that you and I will come out of it with:
I thought it would be fun to have a look back at what the top 12 posts for 2016 were on Simply Frugal! Some of these posts were not written in 2016, but thanks to Social Media, they’re still popular! I’d love to know what your favourite post was in 2016? Or what sort of post would you like to see become popular in 2017? Let me know in the comments!
No matter what time of year of year it is, it's never too late to start making a financial plan. It's always a good idea to have a plan in place so you can tell your money exactly what to do so you can reach your financial goals. But, maybe you don't really know how to start? Here are some tips for bringing your financial plan into fruition.
To begin, you should think about having a budget in mind. It doesn't need to be a set budget, but it helps if you have some numbers in mind. For example, say you plan on spending $400 a month on groceries. It doesn't have to be a set-in stone budget, but it does give you an idea or a goal to reach towards. You may adjust as needed. Now that you have created a budget for each major area in regards to your finances, the biggest obstacle will be to stick with it. 🙂
Most people have bills and/or some sort of debt. With the New Year on the horizon, you should prioritize your bills as much as possible. Also, seriously consider cutting down your debt. The less debt that you have, the more money you can put towards major saving goals.
Let’s be honest for a moment. Everyone has a financial downfall. Maybe yours is shopping. Whatever the financial downfall is, it’s important to know what it is, so you can avoid it. Everyone’s financial downfall has the potential to get them in trouble, which is why keeping tabs on it can help your financial plan, instead of hurting it.
Every year, it's smart to plan on having money goals. For 2016, my family had a “savings” goal in mind. We wanted to save as much as possible so that we could put a large down payment on the house we bought. Maybe in your case, there is a certain amount of money that you'd like to save before 2018 hits. These financial goals help us to create a financial plan that makes sense.
Once you have put all this work into your financial plan, don’t let it fall to the wayside. Keep on top of it! Put this financial plan into action, you won’t regret it.
This year, you could plan on putting a financial plan binder together. Everything that has to do with your financial plan can go into a binder. The Budget Planner that I have available is a great way to help you to stay more organized and on target with your financial plan.
What tips do you have for someone trying to make a financial plan this year? Do you have any lofty financial goals that you'd like to hit?
Happy three days before Christmas! Our family wants to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! We hope you have a very blessed and happy one! We also want to thank you all for stopping in every day here at Simply Frugal, we truly appreciate each and every one of you! 🙂
I’ll be back late Sunday evening to post some Boxing Day deals in this epic Boxing Day post, but other than that, I’ll be enjoying some much needed family time until the New Year. (However, you will find a new post here and there that I have already scheduled. ;))
Merry Christmas!
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(Note: The links in this post are affiliate links. Read the disclosure policy here.)
