A Clean Slate

Ahhhh... the refreshing feeling of a clean slate, a new start, a brand spankin' new year. Anyone that enjoys/suffers from a Type A personality can surely identify with me on this: 2013 means my shoulders are no longer heavy with the burdens of last year. I'm all for a new beginning, for the feeling that anything can be accomplished.

I'm not one to get all hyped-up about New Year's Resolutions... after all, hardly anyone keeps up with those, so they're just a prescription for a feeling of failure and inadequacy in my book. However, that doesn't mean that I don't set goals and such when the new calendar year rolls around! I'm not sure that I set any real goals for last year, but my goals two years ago were to cook at home more, eat healthier, and spend money more wisely in the grocery department... which, subsequently, carried over into last year because it was indeed a true lifestyle change! Those goals are going to continue to be on my list for this year, as there is always room for improvement.

2013 is going to be a BIG year for the two of us Womacks, at least financially. Patrick is getting in the groove of working full time with several part time jobs, which is actually really difficult to do (ah, the life of a musician). I bring in very little money being a full time student and all, but I'm SO excited to say that we will be paying off my SECOND car within the first quarter of the year! That alone will help us in so many ways, but we're also going to be paying off both of our (very small) credit card debts this year as well. Hallelujah!

The most difficult goal on my list is the fact that I need to be better at meal planning and cooking at home. We cook at home a majority of the time, but it never fails that halfway through the semester, when things start getting really hectic and busy, I fall behind on the grocery shopping, meal planning, and cooking in advance. We end up making multiple small trips to the store and really have no meals to eat off of during the week. One of our more specific goals that we have is that of a weekly budget for food and toiletries. It's not so small of an amount that it will take all of my time and effort, but it's a bit less than we're used to, causing me/us to really think and plan (hopefully) when it comes to grocery shopping. We're also setting that money aside in cash in a designated envelope to help us stick to it at the store - we can't go over our amount if we're only paying with cash. Hopefully, with the help of family, friends, cookbooks, and Pinterest (haha), I can make this happen!

Yay for meal planning and financial budgeting!

Maybe I will post more on here about my progress in that realm - meal planning on a budget! It might be a bit therapeutic as well as encouraging to look at what I've been able to accomplish.

2013 is starting out better already. Can I get an Amen?! ;)

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