Holiday and Habits

Ok holidays, welcome!

For the month of November our FFC group discussed "The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg.  We learned about the habit loop and the cycle that all habits have.

All habits have a cue, then the routine, then a reward.

For example, getting ready for bed is a cue for me to brush my teeth.  The routine is to brush my teeth then wash my face, then my reward is feeling clean and fresh before going to bed.  This is my night time habit and sadly flossing is not always part of it.  

If we want to change a habit, we need to adjust the routine.  In my case, I decided to change my routine to floss my teeth BEFORE I brush.  I know that I won't go to bed without my teeth brushed so if I floss before brushing it guarantees flossing. I still get my clean and fresh reward at the end. It has been working pretty well so far.

So what about our money habits?

With Christmas so close, I am worried I'll really let my good financial habits slide.  There are just so many coupons and deals!  

One of my biggest spending bad habits is fast food on busy days.  I know busy days are coming up with holiday concerts and travel and visits and more.  So I am going to work on changing this particular habit loop this month. 

The cue is driving in the car with children around meal times.  Instead of driving through a fast food place, I plan on bringing snacks and bottled water in the car.  Also, I need to plan my meals so I know that when I get home I have a meal idea ready to make.  (Half the battle of making a meal is trying to figure out what to make.)  Unfortunately, I am not so good at this because I need to make the time commitment to plan everything out better.  I guess I'll see how it all goes.

Until our next meeting I will be working on these goals:
1.  Change my drive through habit on busy days
2.  Budget all my Christmas gifts and PLAN OUT MY SPENDING (I gave myself a pile of cash and that is all I have to work with.)
3.  Read "The Slight Edge" by Jeff Olsen.  Another book on habits that we are reading for next month's preparation for New Year goals.

I'll let you know how it goes!

A no cost anniversary gift, a non crafty wife

Yesterday I celebrated 14 years of being married to my fantastic husband. Woohoo!

(Oh it is amazing how fast time goes!) 

Since we had enjoyed a vacation in Puerto Rico to celebrate my dear friend's wedding less than a month ago- we decided not to spend money on gifts. So, I struggled to embrace my non-crafty, non-creative self and tried to think of a great gift, that cost no money.

I knew that the "jar full of reasons I love you" or the "letter to open every time you feel a certain way" type of romantic mushy gift, wouldn't do. My sweet husband is wonderful, but mushy romance stuff is not really his thing. I, on the other hand would love a jar full of reasons he loves me. :)

 I decided to help him reach our future dreams with a binder. A binder full of information on how we can move to New Zealand, two years from now.

In January this year my husband said, "In two years I think we should move to New Zealand for a few months and do something different in our lives." We have owned a small car dealership for about 11 years, and being a small business owner means that life is often consumed with the business. Also, this career choice does not lend itself well to moving across world.

So, I thought a binder with all the information we need to actually take a step in that direction would be a fun way to get closer to making our dreams a reality. I filled it with quotes like,

"Life loves to be taken by the lapel and told: 
I'm with you kid. Let's go." -Maya Angelou

I researched all of our passport and visa information and picked up applications.  I Looked up blogs from others that have lived in New Zealand and printed off their stories.  I researched ways to delegate in small business and put in information about running your business from afar.  I also made a spreadsheet comparing costs of what it would take to live there 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year.  (so romantic, I know!)

I was really excited after I put it together.  It feels like this dream could become a reality with the first steps taken.  I think Sonny really liked it too.  As a bonus, we got to talk about our dreams and future all through dinner as we went through the binder.  It was really fun for me, and cheap!!