Amazing comment conversations on yesterday’s post! Thank you all for sharing your wisdom (and for the very respectful mini-debates there — fascinating). I think we will continue celebrating but not rewarding strong efforts. Of note, starting next year there will be no real report cards for a while (the Montessori school sends out reports on mastery with comments, but does not issue any numerical or letter grades until middle school).
Saturday = SPORTS DAY
I just banged out my own workout (21DF Dirty 30 – this workout seems to withstand the test of time!). Kids have TENNIS (C) / SOCCER (G) / SOCCER (A), and there’s also a mini-neighborhood outdoor birthday gathering, then takeout night. Whew! I have very few plans other than to do some online shopping for the kids (bathing suits + some extra uniform shirts for C + probably some shorts for all 3).
Speaking of shopping, OMG. I have spent down my allowance fund to nearly zero. I’m the kind of person who SO NEEDS AN ALLOWANCE FUND. Because if I did not have that clear barrier, I would just keep spending. We put a certain $ in it every month.
Thankfully, the barrier is there and I really respect it (as does Josh) so I can feel happy about spending for fun sometimes rather than guilty/icky. DISCIPLINE IS FREEDOM, as Gretchen Rubin would say. I don’t know if Josh would be as on board with this phrase (he is definitely a Questioner) but honestly neither of us are naturally frugal so barriers + automatic savings are really important for us.
So, what did I use up my allowance on? I already mentioned Simplified, but the Sephora Sale is currently going on, so I bought my staples. And! Honeypress NC, opened its virtual doors, and I was excited to support them! Honeypress is a “Filipina-owned stationery boutique based out of Clayton, North Carolina that curates specialty paper goods, party supplies, and novelty gifts. We also specialize in unique, high quality Japanese stationery products.”
I mean . . . Japanese stationery and North Carolina . . . two of my favorite things. I had to. I got some sushi washi (mostly for Annabel), some colored/dot pens I’m dying to try, and a floral notepad because despite having TONS of paper, I often can’t seem a blank sheet to scribble on / write a one-off list!
Finally, I stumbled upon the Allure subscription box on Modern Ms Darcy and . . . well, apparently I’m in an indulgent mood because I ordered a month to try ($23). It looks like mostly skincare with a few makeup products (though . . . they did not ask any complexion or skin type questions, so I guess they product won’t be very personally tailored!). I don’t think I will continue this long term because I don’t think I will get through the products fast enough, but it will be fun to try for a month or two.
PS: NONE OF THE LINKS IN THIS POST ARE AFFILIATE or advertisements of any kind. I just wanted to share.
6 Comments
I like to live vicariously through your purchases because I am the underbuyer/frugal type. You did inspire me to buy the AirPod pros for my 40th bday and I love them!!
I am going to start 21DF pretty soon. My pelvic floor Pt cleared me to do some walk/run intervals and the 21DF program with the low inpact modification. I am excited to start an actual program although I won’t do it 21 days straight. I am thinking 3 workouts/week with running/walking mixed in. But hopefully by summer I will be able to do a program straight through. I’m just starting at a beginner base after being pregnant/on Mat leave. I’d really like to get back to running 10k or 10 mile races so maybe by fall that will be doable!!
Sarah, my husband and I have just decided that giving ourselves more of an allowance will probably save us money overall as we will then have some boundaries that are realistic, but clear.
We are also looking at trying YNAB. Firstly, do you have a referral code as I think it would get you a free month? Secondly, do you guys treat the allowance money as an outflow and it is in a separate account somewhere? Or is the total reflected in the shared budget? I don’t think we’d mind either way just wondering what is easiest?
I suspect you have written a bit about it before so I shall go and search the archives also!
Cheers from Australia!
Hi! I probably should become a YNAb affiliate but I haven’t yet! Maybe I can try tomorrow 🙂 we treat it as a budget category (one for each of us) just like anything else. Ours are called “extras-S” and “extras-J”.
On my YNAB I call it “personal slush fund.” 🤣
https://ynab.com/referral/?ref=kdhwEaO6NsXbXQBa&utm_source=customer_referral
Here you go!
Can you remind me what your skincare staples are these days? TIA