Months ago I posted about having a new mind for the new year. Here's a quick update on that "new" mind.
First, in spite of being excited and inspired by the principles espoused by Mr. Money Mustache, we are not quite Mustachian, but we're getting there.
I want to blame Kat for our slow progress. She is the perpetual project-making machine. Always starting a project around the house, and never an inexpensive one (is there such a thing?) On the plus side, she is a focused worker, always finishes what she starts, and her projects do improve our quality of life.
The latest is a re-do of our back patio, converting it from ugly, bumpy, impossible to walk on, concrete molds to a beautiful, natural flagstone and crushed granite. And on top — an inflatable hot tub. I wasn’t too keen on the latter, but it was relatively inexpensive, and it feels so luxurious relaxing in it during our meltingly hot summer days. I hold so much tension in my shoulders that it causes me headaches, and those have been less frequent. Overall a great stress reliever with a cost of just under $1,000.00, paid cash because of actually being better about not consuming what we don’t need.
One day though I want us both to adopt a more saving mentality rather than a consuming one. We have more money because we’re consuming less and have cut back on many bills, such as cable (gone), but that doesn’t mean we have to spend it just because we have it. Some does get saved, but not near enough by my estimation. This is an on-going battle, both with Kat and with my own wants. As satisfying as it would be, I can’t lay this at Kat’s feet (paws :-))
Second, the vegan diet we adopted morphed into a vegetarian one. We are both enjoying our vegetarian lifestyle. Like our spending cut-backs, it doesn’t feel like deprivation. Instead, we find ourselves eating lots of different foods, breaking out of ruts a lifetime in the making. We feel good, our actions are better aligned with our values, and we haven’t sacrificed on taste.
There’s been so much going on this year; I let this blog go, but I’m not ready for it to die. I’ll be back.
I know - it is a slow process huh? I am not sure we will ever be on the same level, I might be able to, but definitely not my husband. He can go without a lot of things, but not $25,000 a year without.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I am not so keen on the biking everywhere thing. I get what he is saying and we have taking up biking MORE, but not to grocery shop or go to Lowe's. We would have to cross a highway and honestly, it is very dangerous where we live - no sidewalks and narrow lanes.
Good for you though cutting back as you have. I was wondering about those inflatable hot tubs.
Yes, I'm afraid we will never be fully Mustachian. We haven't quite embraced that lifestyle fully, although I really do admire the principles, and what we have adopted from his blog has helped our financial situation quite a bit. Also, we're in San Antonio; biking everywhere is just not going to work anymore than it would in Houston or probably anywhere in Texas (which makes me a complainy pants in the Mustachian world, but I can live with that!)
DeleteThe inflatable hot tub is surprisingly awesome. It doesn't get super hot, but that's fine for us in this weather. It's warm enough to feel relaxing, and the bubbles are nice and strong. We'll deflate and store it during the winter, which is nice too. We'll see how well it lasts.
Thanks for your comment! I'm trying to get back into the blogging habit; I've got some catching up to do!