One Down, 11 To Go

Month 1:

The following are the numbers/statistics regarding how I did during the first month of my Give It Up experiment:

% of Income spent
Credit Card repayments: 30%
Mortgage: 14%
Taxes: 12%
Insurance: (life, medical, dental,
car, homeowners) 7%
Work Expenses: 6%
Various Savings Accounts: 6%
Student Loans: 6%
Home Living Expenses (phone,
electric bill, condo maintenance
fees, internet, Netflix,) 6%
Car payment 4%
Monthly pet fees (daycare,
insurance) 2%
Retirement 2%
Medical bills/Health
Savings Acct 2%
CPA fees 2%
Self-care (Gym, Float) 1.5%
Bank Fees .25%
Investments (additional) .25%

Grocery Budget: $200/month – Spent $168.87
Spending Money Budget: $320/month – Spent $315

Other expenses:
I took money out of my “Fun/Vacation” savings to pay for Hall and Oates concert tickets as well as to renew my yoga package. Additionally, I took money from my “Race Fee” savings to pay for the majority of a new triathlon suit, with the remainder being paid from my allotted spending money. I did not include these expenses in my breakdown above, as these savings plans are specifically for such spending.

Measurable “Add On” Goals:

(Number of times I achieved vs. planned)
Orange Theory workout (OTF) 6/12
Meditation 8/12
Outdoor activity 5/8
Strength Training 1/4
Yoga 4/4
Acts of Kindness 4/4
Social Activity 2/2
Massage 1/1
Float Therapy 1/1

Measurable “Give it Up” Goals:
Take-out tea 2/2
Eating out 5/5

Additional Goals:
• I was able to stick to my goal of no spending whatsoever on clothing, home goods, electronics, itunes music, high-end skin care.
• My goal of no pastries or donuts was missed when I did succumb to a tasty cheese danish at Starbucks on morning. Other than this, I
have not gone back on this goal.
• My goal of no snacks at the movies was missed only once when I bought nachos and a coke on a cinema gift card. I’m giving myself half
a win on this – the winning half going to the fact that I didn’t spend any money on said snacks, although the calories were still
there.
• I achieved my goal of drinking only water when eating out, to save on money and calories.
• Although there’s no easy way to measure, I feel like my road rage, cursing, self-deprecating talk and unnecessary apologies have
decreased as well.

Overall, it looks like I did well during this first month. As you can see, a huge portion of my income went to credit card debt as this is one of the main goals of this whole experiment. It’s interesting that I’m spending nearly the same amount on my mortgage as I am on taxes, but maybe not when you think about how much taxes actually cost us. I don’t like that I’m only putting 2% of my income back for retirement at this point but, again, the whole goal of this is to get unnecessary expenses paid off so that I can begin padding those accounts to the max – hopefully this is what I will be able to focus on in 2019.

OTF, Meditation, Outdoor Activities and Strength Training were the only areas I lacked in achieving my measurable goals – which is interesting since these are typically some of my favorite things. I can’t think of any good excuse as to why this is other than “life got in the way.” At the very least this gives me an idea of where I need to step it up for March and beyond.

As for additional spending, I've discovered it’s a good thing I do put additional money back into specific savings accounts for things that come up. As of today, I have separate savings accounts for:

Quarterly and Annual taxes, including CPA fees
Race Fees and gear
Emergency Living Expenses (this doesn’t get touched)
Vacation/Fun Fund
Practice (work) Expenses

If it hadn’t been for these accounts I couldn’t have paid for the Hall & Oates tickets (on my approved spending list, by the way), my yoga package and my tri suit.

The only thing that I’m tweaking for March is the amount of time I’m allotting for OTF, due to tri training starting soon as well as cutting back on monthly expenses, and trading out the “No Sweets” goal for the “No Television,” goal. Unfortunately, I went a little sugar-crazy at my last grocery visit and have some Little Debbie’s and Breyers ice cream left in the condo that are sure to be consumed for the simple fact that they’re there. By April, all of the on-hand sweets will have been eaten so there will be less temptation. To say the least, that will be an interesting month.

Week 4

Along with getting older, being less physically active, genetics and all the other reasons that explain why we tend to gain weight as adults, I’m going to share with you a theory of mine. Remember when you were a kid and what you ate was under the complete and total control of your parents? I can remember looking through the refrigerator and cabinets full of food and yet proclaiming to my mom, “there’s nothing to eat!” Her response was typically to tell me to eat a sandwich or make some soup. Before the age of 17 when a job and a car came along (see: Freedom), all of my meals were determined by what we had at the house, or what my mom chose to do for meals that day. Once given the choice and opportunity, however, you bet I was cruising through the local drive thru giving into any pallet-craving foods that struck. And while I wouldn’t consider myself overweight or unhealthy, my choices can certainly fall into the category of the latter more often that I’d like.

I’ve now completed week 4 of 52 of this challenge, and for the most part I’ve stayed on-track. One area in which I’ve been able to keep to my goal has been decreasing the amount of times I’m eating out or picking up take-out tea (I’m not a coffee drinker). My goal was to eat out no more than 5 times in a month. This includes getting dinner with friends, convenience meals on the way home from work, or succumbing to cravings. Not only has this decreased the amount of money I’ve spent on eating out, but also the additional calories as well. Out of the five times that I did eat out, three were convenience meals (things I picked up after or before work when I didn’t feel like cooking or eating what was at home), one was lunch during an all-day conference, and the fifth was when I accepted an invitation for a dinner out with a friend.

Although I wasn’t keeping track of how much I was eating out before, or how much I was spending on said meals, I spent a total of $60.18 this month on food not purchased at the grocery. Two meals were at what I call “sit-down,” restaurants, where you are waited on by a server. Two were take-out meals that I ordered ahead of time and picked up on the way home from work (these meals tend to cost slightly more than fast-food, but are definitely better tasting and better quality). I’m not proud to say that the last meal I chose to eat out this month was from McDonald’s. This was after a night of horrible sleep (4 hours) and when I had five patients back-to-back the following day. I knew my butt would be dragging if I didn’t get some sort of sustenance in me, but I also needed something I could nosh on between clients since I wouldn’t have time for a lunch. This meant my order of an Egg McMuffin (to eat right away), a large Coke (to sip on throughout the day and give me that caffeine kick) and a sausage biscuit (that would hold up long-term and be easy to nibble on between sessions) cost me almost my entire daily allowance of calories for the day – Yikes!!

Speaking of food, I’m not crazy about grocery shopping. I don’t know what it is – whether I’m impatient with slower shoppers or I just like having what I need there at the house, I don’t know. Regardless, I have began shopping weekly rather than once every 3-4 weeks as I’m also attempting to keep from wasting food or cluttering up my cabinets with things that never get eaten. My grocery allowance is $50 per week ($200/month) and I spent $168.87 for the month of February. Additionally, although I didn’t give myself a monetary allowance, my take-out tea spending was to be limited to twice monthly and the cost came out of my weekly allowance of spending money; I spent $12.21 this month on that expense.

The only goal that I missed regarding food and food costs for the month was my giving in and ordering a cheese danish at Starbucks one afternoon. This was one of what I called my “hard goals,” for this year, as I wasn’t allowing myself any pastries or donuts for 2018. In my defense, I did do a 60-minute OTF workout followed by a 80-minute yoga session beforehand so….. ya know…. any excuse, right? Wrong.
If I start making excuses during this first month as to why I can go back on my goals, I’ll continue to do so in ALL areas. Don’t feel like working out this week? Skip it. See an awesome area rug I just HAVE to have for the condo? Sure, buy it! This is how I accumulated so much stuff, debt, weight, etc in the first place. If I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it right. And so far I’m off to a pretty good start!

Week 3

Someone recently asked me how it is that I am the only one in my immediate family who is health and exercise conscious. I couldn’t answer when or why it started, but I do recall always being super active as a kid. I would ride my bike for miles up to the mall to see a movie with my best friend (side note: this was in the mid-80’s when it was perfectly acceptable to allow your 10 y/o daughter to ride 5 miles from home with no one other than her 11 y/o companion). Playing kick-ball in our neighborhood court, tag, freeze, jail-break was the norm throughout my childhood years. I was also lucky enough to have female babysitters who were also active and kept us busy by showing us cheer-leading routines or how to catch a softball. Additionally, I vaguely recall doing some exercises with my mom in the living room of our first house to a cheesy audio recording of some routine or another, although the only clear memory is one of the songs being “Just the Way You Are,” by Billy Joel. Looking back, how ironic that tune would be chosen for an exercise tape encouraging one to lose weight.

In 5th grade I received a sweet set of “Get in Shape Girl” audio cassettes that were geared towards keeping young girls active. I would spend hours in the basement doing push-ups, sit-ups and running laps around that 600 square foot cave. That is, until I hit middle school and graduated to Sweating to the Oldies with Richard Simmons. And while I’m sure my mom had every intention of making this guilty pleasure a part of her routine, it was I who kept it going well into my late teens.

Despite all of this activity, it was rarely done on a regular basis. Although I was thin (by genetics more than anything), I wasn’t exactly strong or had more stamina than the average bear. When I was 19 I bought a hybrid bike and was honestly surprised to find myself out of breath with wobbly legs a half mile down the road. I hated running, and couldn’t run a full mile (in my defense I was probably doing what most people do, and went balls-to-the-wall from the onset: bad idea).

I kept up these periods of working out, then not working out, for years. Again, because I was thin I thought I could get away with those slacking months without much consequence. Even after I got into running on a regular basis, after beginning to date a man who ran marathons, I would only really run/workout during the training for our races and do little in between. It wasn’t until spring 2014, and the introduction of Orange Theory Fitness, that I began to work out on a regular basis. Here was a place I could come and get a quality workout without having to think about it. They planned the routines for me, which included both strength and cardio, and all I had to do was show up for 60 minutes at a time and give it as all, or as little, as I wanted. Since then, I have been a regular and have attended anywhere from 2-5 times a week.
I share all of this because my “Give it up, Add it on,” goals include hitting OTF, yoga and doing strength training at home a certain number of times per month. Three weeks into this challenge, I’m beginning to see that I may have set my sights a little high, and devoting 6 days a week to physical activity may not be achievable.

For the months of March and April, I have changed my OTF membership from Unlimited to Premiere – meaning I can attend 8 sessions per month for one standard price, with the option to add on more if needed for an additional fee. I feel I must also add that with the Unlimited option there is a $12 penalty if you cancel within 8 hours of a scheduled class, and so far I’ve accrued $24 in cancellation fees this month (ouch)! My yoga goals continue to pan out as I’ve been going once a month on Sunday mornings, and the only thing that would hamper those plans would be if I were out of town or have a race that day. The strength training at home though – ugh. That hasn’t happened at all. I don’t want to give myself an excuse, but after working 10-hour days the last thing I want to do is come home and lift some weights. For this reason, I’m going to change my goal from 12 times a month to 4 times a month. I figure I’d set the bar low enough that it’s more achievable, and if I end up doing more – great! There’s just something that happens mentally where if I believe that 12 isn’t fully obtainable, then why bother to do any at all? Darn psychology!

So, there’s the scoop on the physical portion of my GIUAIO challenge. Don’t be surprised if there are some other changed that take place after May when my Half Ironman training begins. I already plan to cut back OTF to the Basic plan of 4 times a month, but am optimistic that my weekly yoga can continue as usual.

Next week, I’ll be giving an update on how the eating out/Heine Bros. portion of the challenge is going. Spoiler alert – I’m on track so far but it’s not been without its difficulties.

Week 2

Do you remember your first time? I sure do. I was at Circuit City after having just purchased a new, not-needed automobile after trading in a gifted vehicle that ran just fine. However, said gift was not a Boysenberry Blue Ford Probe and this 19 y/o wanted a brand-new Boysenberry Blue Ford Probe. But, I digress.

I was standing in Circuit City perusing the car electronics and checking out the sweet 10-Disc CD changer with cordless remote (this was 1997 mind you), as well as a radar detector (I like to drive fast). I couldn’t tell you the price of these items, and it didn’t much matter to me as I remembered receiving SOMETHING in the mail not long after my new car purchase that I THOUGHT was a credit card. Hmmmmm. So, I drove 45 minutes back home to retrieve said envelope, returned to Circuit City shortly thereafter, and asked the salesman I had been working with if what I possessed was, in fact, a credit card. “Yes, yes it is,” was his smirked reply, knowing good and well that he was about to bank some sweet commission off of this young, naïve kid standing in front of him. And that, ladies and gentleman, was the first time I ever used a credit card.

I don’t know about you but my parents never taught me much about money. Nada, zip, zilch about credit cards and debt and budgeting. The only thing I heard time and time again is that “credit cards are the devil,” and that I should never get one – but I never knew why. The mixed messages came when this was followed up by Mom telling us that if we wanted to go shopping for school clothes we had to do it at Bacon’s since this is the store where she had a credit card herself. Talk about confusion, right? Hence began my own journey into credit card debt as a young adult.

I can’t count the number of times I’ve paid off all of my debt, only to find myself in the same boat shortly thereafter. Even though I understand now how debt and credit cards work, I find myself getting too impatient to save and wait for the things that I want. Notice I didn’t say need. This is how I ended up giving away or selling a large amount of my belongings recently, because they were things that I never really needed. I should also point out that I tend to be a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my surroundings. My space (whether it’s work area, condo, house or car) has to be perfect. Everything has to look just so - knick knacks and wall art and furniture placement has to look flawless. Everything has it’s place. This mindset doesn’t mesh well when I’m trying to get, and stay, out of debt because before you know it I start to notice that the curtains aren’t exactly the shade of gray they need to be. Or the shower curtain doesn’t quite match the rug. Or that framed poster that I spent so much money on no longer looks good in that particular room. The list goes on and on.

I say all this to point out that it’s not just been a matter of not spending these last 11 days. I’ve had to accept and appreciate the things that I already have and learn to live with those things. I can already name at least three instances of having to reel myself back in when I thought that I needed to purchase yet another household item in order to make my condo immaculate. And that’s just been in the last week and half! Can you imagine the money I must’ve been sinking into these things by buying on impulse or after convincing myself I just HAD to have it rather than accepting what was around me? The odd thing is, it’s not really been that difficult not to buy the items. After a day or two passes I find out a way to figure it out (cleaned out the oil diffuser that wasn’t working properly, re-arranged the curtains I had told myself I just didn’t like). And low and behold, everything has turned out fine and I didn’t spend one dime – imagine that!

Oh… one last thing. Even though I have found myself in debt multiple times I’d like to add that I have always paid my bills on time. I’ve been lucky enough to make the kind of money needed to keep up with my monthly expenses, even if that sometimes meant paying only the minimum payments on debts. However, because so much money was going to these debts instead of into savings, retirement, etc., I found myself unable to put money towards things that I really wanted to do like travel and experiences. Throughout this process that’s just another perk that I hope to achieve after all of this – to be able to spend my hard earned cash on things that are priceless, and not just things.

Off to the Races...

I think it's worth mentioning, as this blog originally (and still is) about my racing and tri experience, that I'm still deeply involved in this lifestyle. Although I haven't kept updates on my race and training experience as much as I would like, I am still super-active and don't see myself slowing down anytime soon. In fact, I have added an additional goal to the physical (and mental?) part of my life and that is to hike the entirety of the Appalachian Trail, section-by-section, over the next 10 years. You can find a post from the spring of 2017 that corresponds with my first-ever overnight hiking experience.

With that said, the 2018 race and hiking calendar is as follows:

Snowman Shuffle 4 miler
Red River Gorge Hiking (3 days, day-hiking only)
Anthem 5k
Rodes City Run 10k
Papa Johns 10-miler
KDF Mini Marathon
Appalachian Trail Hiking (6 days, backpacking)
Chicago Series HM (Spring)
Tri Louisville Olympic Distance
Half Ironman Ohio
Appalachian Trail (5 days, backpacking)
Appalachian Trail (7 days, backpacking)
Pure Tap 5k
Great Pumpkin 10k
Chicago Series HM (Fall)
Urban Bourbon HM

Week 1

Week 1:
Well, I’ve survived my first week of this minimizing adventure of mine, and while most things have been a fairly easy adjustment, some have been difficult. I’ve had to pace myself when it comes to my take-out chai tea and eating out allotment, and have had to look ahead at possible situations in which these take-out treats are a part of my typical agenda: early morning continuing education class? Starbucks. Forgot lunch at home? Burger King. The two dinners already planned with friends this month will eat up (no pun intended) 50% of my allowable eat-out goal. And unless I want to blow it, I have to make sure that I’m not giving in to every craving and convenience that comes my way. This, of course, brings us to mindfulness.

In the past (see: 6 days ago) trips to the drive-through were so automatic I never really thought about how much I rely on (and take advantage of) those unhealthy conveniences. But setting a measurable goal for myself forces me to think about whether or not I really want, or need, that overpriced deliciousness. The fact that it’s only the 6th and I’ve already burned through one of only two allowable Heine Bros. chai teas tells me how often I was giving in and mindlessly asserting my right to a “medium iced chai, light ice please.” Do I NEED it? No – it was just there.

Aside from how these objectives have been playing out, I’ve also been toying with the specifics of the goals I set. Like, I have a standing dinner meet-up with two separate groups of friends every month, and yet I’ve assigned myself two social events in a 4-5-week period. Do I want these two events to count towards that? It seems like cheating since they’re things I would have done anyway. And with my meditation practice…. If I meditate before bed and end up falling asleep, did I really get the benefits of that meditation at all? First world problems, people. First. World. Problems.

With that said, I have already seen some positive benefit to some of this. I catch myself cursing and have to reel it back in (I’m apparently super fond on the phrase, “Are you fucking kidding me?” as it tends to apply to so many situations). For a plethora of reasons, “Dag-gonnit,” just doesn’t have the same intense ring to it. My road rage has also improved as well, as I’m telling myself, sometimes out loud, that there’s no need for so much impatience as I’m not running late. Or that the lack of turn signals all around don’t HAVE TO affect me. That a 3-second delay between the light turning green and the acceleration of the car ahead is not worthy of “C’mon you freaking idiot!” It’s because of these small changes that I’ve noticed an increased pleasantness in my internal, and hopefully external, demeanor.

Give it Up, Add it On - Specifics

ADD IT ON:

Times per Month:
Orange Theory Fitness - 8
Yoga - 4
Massage - 1
Float Therapy - 1
Social Outings - 2
Outdoor Activities - 2

Times per Week:
Meditation - 3
Strength Training - 3
Random Act of Kindness - 1


GIVE IT UP:

Times per Month:
Retail Coffee/Tea - 2
Eating Out - 5
Doggy Daycare - 5 (Don't judge - I had been taking my dog 2-3 days a week and it adds up. But he loves to be around other dogs so I refuse to take it away from him completely)

GIVE IT UP: - COMPLETELY for 365 DAYS
Shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories, home goods, furniture, concerts, electronics, itunes music, high-end skin care.
Donuts, pastries, theatre snacking.
Gossip, Self-deprecating talk. Decrease cursing, road rage, automatic/un-needed "sorry's."

Monthly Sacrifices:
February - Social Media
March - Sweets
April - Television
May - Sugary Drinks
June - Caffeine
July - Sleeping past 8:00 a.m.
(Repeat over next 6 months in same order)

I think it's worth mentioning here that the "Monthly Sacrifices" may or may not be permanent or, at least, modified in some way. I can't imagine that I will never again use social media, but maybe I will limit time or the way in which I use it (less humble bragging, more networking). Caffeine and sugary drinks are the only things I could see possibly becoming permanent changes.

Approved List:
If something that I TRULY NEED breaks, I can replace it but only if it cannot be fixed or borrowed.
Fleetwood Mac concert tickets are the ONLY approved live music purchase. I will not apologize for this - it's their farewell tour and they're my favorite band. Although I may fall off the wagon on this if a band that rarely tours comes into town, or is on their last leg (i.e. Hall and Oates).

Give it Up, Add it On

Today starts day 1 of 365 of what I am calling “Give it up, Add it on.” The concept being that I am going to “Give up” certain vices, things I spend too much money on, and negative behaviors in order to “Add on” to things such as positivity, a healthier lifestyle, money saved.
The seed was planted when I decided to get rid of the bedroom suite in my spare room. I had high hopes when I moved into my condo almost 2 years ago that I would keep this room available for out-of-town guests, overnighters, etc. This despite the fact that I lived an entire 11 years in my previous home without having but a handful of people EVER stay over. The room wasn’t being utilized efficiently. I decided to make this room into a relaxation area – somewhere I could go where the sole purpose was to “Let Go.” To read, meditate, color, listen to music, lift weights, or any number of activities that would benefit me in a positive physical or emotional way.
While cleaning out the room I got a little crazy and began de-cluttering the entire house. I got rid of things that I had moved from residence to residence over the years that I never even used. I donated bags full of clothes, shoes, linens. I posted on social media to either give away or sell things like picnic baskets, un-used triathlon or running gear, lamps, wall art, rugs, dog accessories – you name it! I even cleaned out my “junk drawer,” and divided it into sections (electronics/pens/misc). I threw out old medications that had expired long ago and combined the three bottles of Ibuprofen I had been keeping around into one. I was on a mission to clean, get organized, and get rid of things that no longer served any purpose.

While the decluttering of my condo took care of the physical space in my life, I began to think about other areas I could simplify or even improve in some way. Financial. Nutrition. Emotional Health. Social. Goals for this would include:

Financial: Decrease or do away with the amount of money spent on things not truly NEEDED.
Nutrition: Cut back on unhealthy choices that don’t contribute to a health(ier) me.
Health: Hold myself accountable to engage in activities that enhance my well-being.
Social: Make sure I’m getting an adequate amount of social time in my life, and decrease the pattern of “Work, isolate, sleep.”

Of course, there are specifics related to each of these. Some include “Give ups” and some include “Add ons.” All are measurable by either time or money. For instance, I’m going to “Add on” meditation three times a week, strength training three times a week, a random act of kindness once a week, and yoga four times a month. At the same time, I’m going to “Give up,” or decrease buying retail coffee drinks to two times a month and eating out at restaurants to five times a month. Some of my “Give ups” were more all-or-nothing – No buying clothes, shoes, itunes music, etc.
If you are interested in the specifics, I will create another post with all of that information. Because I am such a numbers and spreadsheet nerd I have created a document to keep track of all of these things by date.

So what’s the purpose of all of this, you ask? Well…. First and foremost, I like a challenge. And as long as I have a plan in place that is spelled out specifically, I can usually achieve those challenges. Secondly, with the money saved I plan to do three things: Pay off debt, pad my retirement fund and continue to contribute to my “what if,” fund (i.e. emergencies). Thirdly, as a 41-year-old woman I have become more conscious of my nutritional and health choices. I’ve long said that I am addicted to sugar, and I really do believe it. I crave sugar in the morning and after a meal like smokers crave nicotine. I know it’s not good for me, and as much as I work out I should be a bit healthier and leaner than I am. I know that I’m not due to my food choices and I want to change that. Fourthly, I’ve taken to making my emotional self-care a priority and I would like to keep that up and even add on to that. Yoga, meditation, massages, and float therapy are things I’ve done for myself off and on, but I’d like to do this and more. Even if the change comes from small, behavioral choices (decrease cursing and road rage are on the list, by the way).

Without further ado, I will begin this great journey starting with an awesome workout at Orange Theory Fitness (OTF) this evening. Feel free to follow this blog as I hope to post updates on a weekly basis. Since I’m still in the early stages I’m sure things will evolve over the year, but I do plan to keep track of and update on the goals that are measurable, things I struggle with, times I may have fallen off the wagon, and also ways that these things are benefiting me.