Getting Your Year Into Gear - Family Goals

I'm not one for New Years resolutions but I do love to set new goals.  At the start of each year amongst all my planning and budgeting,  Darren and I talk about what we'd like to achieve over the next twelve months.

Sometimes we plan a few years in advance if the goal is a big one.  For the last two years we've been saving for a new car for me.  That's two years of saving with another three years to go.  My car is working just fine but it is almost ten years old and won't last forever.  When we get to our goal in three years time,  if my car is still running trouble free,  we'll just keep those savings locked away and start saving for Darren's new car.  To achieve my ' new car ' goal,  we've worked out how much we want to spend on a car,  when we might need it,  then divided it into a monthly savings goal.

Next year is our 25th wedding anniversary and we'd love to go to the Cook Islands with a short stop over in New Zealand on the way back.  We've decided to go all out and stay in luxury accommodation when at the Cook Islands.  This comes at a large cost so we've been saving for the last three years with another twelve months worth of saving to go before we reach our goal.

Home renovations and repairs are usually ongoing.  Each year we work out what needs replacing and what is the most urgent.  As we save,  we do our research along the way to find the best deals / brands and to make sure we are saving enough money in the allotted time.

Family goals could include children's activities and sports.  Your children might be involved in too many activities that it's harming the family budget or encroaching on quality family time.  Re-evaluating what's important and if it's working should be done before the new season / term begins.

Maybe this year is the year to start your children in sports,  clubs or a new hobby.  Ask around,  do your research and do the sums.  There can be extra costs for costumes,  competitions,  travel,  equipment,  camps or extra training.  Can your budget cope with this ?

Using the first couple of months of a new year to set your goals gives you a great chance of achieving them.  Talking about doing this or that one day is not a plan,  just a dream.  Dreams are great,  but making a plan to reach those dreams is far more satisfying.

Here are some of our previous goals -

Any excuse to post another photo of my new kitchen 2016

Brisbane holiday 2018

Darren's car 2015 - from memory

New lounge suite was 2018's goal.  Arrived last month

What are your goals for this year and how will your achieve them ?

Links to the other posts in this series -

Getting Your Year Into Gear - The Family Budget

Getting Your Year Into Gear - The Gift Giving Budget

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Paper Doily Bunting

Recently I hosted an afternoon tea for Jessica's 21st birthday.  She wanted all things girly,  pretty and pink.  Balloons and streamers together wouldn't give us the look we were after so I dug into my card making stash.  I have lots of paper doilies in all sorts of sizes.  Suddenly an idea was forming.  Why not make  doily bunting ?

The bunting is very simple to make.  Here's what you need -

Paper doilies of your choice and color
String or twine
Sticky tape on a dispenser
Scissors.

Cut the doilies in half.  I cut 6 - 8 at a time

Roll out the string on a flat surface.

Work out the pattern you'd like to make.  I used one large,  one small,  one large,  one medium as a pattern.

Fold the flat edge of the doily over approximately 4 - 5 mm.

Place the string in the doily fold and use sticky tape to secure the edge.  Larger doilies required 3 pieces of sticky tape.

Make sure you use sticky tape on the same side of each doily.

Hang the bunting and enjoy.

When taking the bunting down,  be extra careful so you can use it again.

COST -  $2 - $3 for approximately 10 metres.

 

Count Your Blessings

Some of you might know of the hymn " Count Your Blessings .  It was a hymn I grew up with and came to mind just recently with the challenges we've been facing.

I thought I'd share a few lines with you as a way of encouraging you if times are tough.  Sometimes it can  feel like there's no hope,  or nothing to be grateful for.  Remembering  our blessings no matter how big or small can be a wonderful way to lift our spirits and give hope to continue on.

Each time I pick food from our garden,  I'm grateful we can eat.
Each time I fill up my car with petrol,  I'm grateful I have the money to do so.
Each time I look in the wardrobe.  I'm grateful I have a choice of what to wear.
Each time I put the heating / cooling on,  I'm grateful I can be comfortable.
Each time I go to work,  I'm grateful for strength to finish the job.
Each time I see Darren,  I'm grateful for love.
Each time I come home,  I'm grateful it's ours.
Each time the girls ring / text / visit,  I'm grateful they are in my life.
Each time I see the sky,  I'm grateful for it's beauty.
Each time I look at my blog,  i'm grateful for the opportunity to share.
Each time I'm blessed,  I'm grateful that God knows our needs.
Each time we need to cut the budget,  I'm grateful for the skills to make it work.

Here are some of the words to the hymn -

Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God has done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

Will you count your blessings this week ?

From our garden

The love of my life.

Decorating On A Budget - A Few Ideas

Decorating your home can be an expensive hobby /task.  Some people pay thousands of dollars for designers to do everything for them.  Those of us living on limited means can find it challenging to decorate without breaking the bank.  Here are a few budget friendly ideas to get you started on a new look.

*  Need a new vase ?  Pasta sauce jars,  tin cans and small glass juice bottles all work so well as vases.  You could jazz them up with a ribbon,  piece of hessian or a strip of old curtaining.  Just tie in a bow or attach with a hot glue gun.

*  Cushion covers can be made from pillow cases.  We all have odd pillow cases in the linen cupboard.  Grab them out, slip over your existing cushions and make adjustments as needed.  You might need to turn it inside out and tack a new seam .  An odd button sewn on could fasten the leftover material in place.

*  Tired on the pictures on the wall ?  Have a look through the photos you have stored on your phone or computer.  Enlarge and print one off. If it's larger than A4,  your local stationary shop might be able to help with large photocopies.

*  Local op shops can provide a wonderful supply of picture frames both big or small.  If you don't like the color of the frame,  give it a light sand then a couple of coats of paint.

*  Painting the walls can be an inexpensive way to freshen up a home and add real value.  Painting a whole house could run into big dollars.  There are a few options here. Check your local hardware  store for tins of mistinted paint at discount prices.  Another option is to paint one room at a time as your budget allows.

Pasta sauce and tomato paste jars as vases

Bottling jar recycled into a tall vase

My baking photographed and framed.