Maintaining New Year's Resolutions - Saving Money

Continuing with my mini-series, let's talk money today. Everyone LOVES to talk money when it comes to MAKING money ... but no one likes to talk about SAVING money. It's hard and it means making sacrifices. Saving money means looking at your income and thinking about expenses that may or may not be needed.

So, how do you go about saying, "I want to save money this year" and then actually see it happen? Read on ... and if you have any ideas, feel free to comment! Please share with others you think might find this post beneficial or those who might have some great input. I love seeing comments on my blog posts. *Note - make sure you sign up for my mailing list so you do not miss any posts or deals!*

Maintaining New Year's Resolutions - Losing Weight

When I was reading other blogs and my friends' Facebook statuses, I noticed a trend on New Year's Resolutions. They seemd to all be about losing weight, saving money, getting healthier, getting a better job, and managing stress better. I know they all seem cliche, but honestly ... these are the keys to a happy and healthy life! They are also things that I am looking to achieve this year ... except for the getting a better job. I love my job ... I just have a vision for my job!

I thought I would do a short mini series to talk about how to maintain your New Year's Resolutions throughout the year. Things you can do and resources available. To start the mini series off, I'm going to talk about losing weight. Since this is something that is a real struggle for me, I would love comments on how you have lost weight in the past. Do not take this personally, but I am not looking for anything that deals with quick fixes, pills, miracle shakes, wraps, or surgery. That isn't my style and it isn't what I will be covering in my blog. I was a Beachbody Health Coach and while I LOVE their products ... I want to be clear that I do not think the shakes are a fix-it. They are also not in my budget for a large family.

Reaching my vision through babysteps

So, my focus word this year is Vision and I chose that word because I want to focus on the vision I have for my life. Where I see myself in ten years. I have some pretty hefty ideas, but I can't reach any of them until I break it down into goals that will help me achieve that vision. Each of my goals then must have tasks to achieve those goals. It's a very complicated process. It can also be overwhelming.

To help prevent being overwhelmed, I have decided to look at things in a very micromanaged fashion. I am a Type-A Parent and this year, they are doing a challenge to grow your blog. Since blogging is on my vision board, I decided it would be a great thing to participate in!

Not too late to join either!

Moving towards a goal (in pictures)

I know that many of you know one of my biggest goals this year is to lose weight and become healthy. I had been working on it throughout 2014 but I never got fully serious. This year is different. I haven't been on my blog much this week because I have been resetting my life. Being healthy is much more than just working out. You have to eat right, sleep right, drink water, and exercise. Your body is complex.

Many people believe that if they burn as many calories as they take in, they will maintain weight. Unfortunately, it is not that simple. I have stopped calorie counting because I found that if I eat properly, I have no problems keeping on speaking terms with my scale.

So, this past week I have changed my diet (started going towards Clean Eating and Paleo - but still have carbs in a few meals when I will be doing a heavy workout) and set up an area to work out. I know that with four children and one vehicle, the odds of me getting to the gym as often as I would like isn't likely. I don't want that to be an excuse ... Here's my week:

Got it started

After a lot of brainstorming yesterday, and thinking on what I really wanted to do, I decided to name my creative side. Ginger Hawkins will be the name I use when writing novels and I am keeping her separate from Birdcage Media. The reason ... I don't ever want to feel like my novel writing is a job. It is what I do for fun ... to release the ideas always forming in my head.

Changes over a decade

I was asked to select a photo from 10 years ago, and compare it to a photo taken recently. What has changed? How do I view myself differently? Well, 10 years ago I had a 1 year old and now I have an 11, 9, 3, and 1 yr old (rounding up for my early 2014 birthdays). I have learned and changed, a lot. I have discovered those who accept me for who I am, those who are willing to hold my hand through trials, and those who were friends for statistical purposes (at least that is what I see them as now).

My Focus Word 2014

My Focus word for 2013 was:

Farewell to 2013

Source Unknown - anyone know?

Your past is just a story. And once you realize this, it has no power over you. ~ Chuck Palahniuk

Source

No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again. ~ Jack Kornfield

My Goals for 2014

I have never been a fan of resolutions because I am usually a huge failure with them.

New Year!

Today sparked a new year. I would love to say that my new resolution is to keep up on my blog, to lose weight, and to do more with my kids. I swear I say that every year though. SO, I am not resolving to do it. My resolutions are going to be:

Off to a good start

I told myself I would not make any specific New Year's Resolution. I don't resolve to do anything new really ... I just want to get back to me! I had a really rough 2011 that I would really just like to forget. So I sat back and thought, who am I? I am a mother who loves crafting, spending time with her children, baking and animals. Those aren't new resolutions, I just have lost myself over the past year ... or years.

New Year, New Life!

I am SO glad 2011 is done. Good riddance. I am ready to start 2012 off fresh and new. I don't really believe in New Year's Resolutions, but my husband and I do take stock in what we have accomplished and what needs to be fixed. Among the things we have noticed is the need for us to get to a healthier state, a routine with structure that works for our family, and more down time for us adults.