Dating Mr. Hinners

As many you have read, our main goal for 2016 is getting as much of our debt paid off as possible.  We have big goals for our money down the road – I’ve got my eye on a 15 acre plot with a Gatlinburg-esqe cabin on it – and none of those plans will be possible unless we are out of our 35k hole.  My biggest fear when taking the plunge to pay off our debts was that we were going to have to forfeit our lifestyle.  We have made many changes to our lifestyle to make room for more money. I got a new, higher paying job back in January (that I love, by the way), Jackson works overtime to get some extra money, and we cut back on our eating out habits. We also have ‘allowances’ for spending now.  We each get $40 a month to spend or save to splurge later.  I’d been saving mine for a while, hence my five great purchases last week. ;) The big thing I didn’t want to let go of was dating. Living in Nashville, everything is tourist aimed, and it costs to do almost everything.  

Recently we were challenged to think of all of the ways we spend time with our family and friends inexpensively.  We have gotten really good at finding and creating free or cheap quality time adventures that are still just as awesome:

Painting pottery (the key to this one is having the punch card. If it’s something you do often, enroll in their rewards to make saving money easier!)

Nap -no really. We love taking an afternoon snooze. and it's free. :) 

Make breakfast together.  Pull all of the candy out of the pantry, slice all the fruit in the fridge, and throw it all into a pancake or two. 

Drive. And keep driving. We play the "Flip a Coin" game on our country back roads.  When we get to the intersection, we flip a coin: Heads, we go right; Tails we go left; if you drop it you go straight.  We have found some of the most beautiful fields to play in that way. 

Make S'mores over a candle. Or in the microwave.  

Play a board game. We have recently learned to love Settlers of Catan, Mexican Train Dominoes, and golf (the card game).  Exploding kittens is another fun one that we usually save for family game nights.  

Take a walk. It's free and it's good for you. We walk around our complex all the time. We usually catch a bonus sunset.  

Have a movie date. Not at the theater... that is way too expensive.  Charge your phone, drive down to one of the fields you found while taking a drive (preferably one where your data works), park the truck, pack the truck bed full of blankets, and watch the movie. :)

Hiking or walking on the Greenways often end in playing in the water down by the river.

Build a fort in the living room. Arrange all of your furniture so you can string your blankets and lights and pile pillows in there, too.  Grab a Redbox, your laptop, and have a movie date in your fort. :) 

As overwhelming as it can be, we also like to sit and assess our financial progress. Our plan for this weekend is to sit down and do some retirement planning using the Retirement Plannerfrom Personal Capital. 

What are your favorite free and cheap quality time ideas? 

Five {great buys} on Friday

Lately, I've made some great purchases. Here are my five favorites 1. Have you been to Walmart lately? No? You're missing out. They have some of the cutest dresses and blouses I've seen in a while. Here are some of the ones I bought recently. Most of them can be cardigan-ed for fall. ;)

(1 & 2)(3)(4 & 5)(6) 2.  We got an HHGregg gift card for $100 when we bought our Washer and Dryer.  I was desperately needing a new pillow. So... since our gift card was about to expire anyway, I scored this amazing pillow.   3.  My new planner came on Friday. I bought the same one that I had last year from SHPplanners. I can't wait to start my list making routine with the new and improved version of this year's planner. 

4.

My latest ThredUp haul was humble, but exciting. I needed some new khaki and white shorts, and the tops and dress were bonus. 

5.

I bought our Championship game t-shirts. I actually bought UNC Champion shirts, but, you know, because I went and got my heart broken by that game, I got these as collateral. 

Life Lately.... {Guess Who's Back}

It has been a couple of months since I've visited my own little corner of the inter-web, and lately, I've been missing it and missing all of the friendships found through the blog-o-sphere.  Life has been so busy and overwhelming that even our date days get consumed by other plans.  Thus is life, though, am I right?  Lately, I've been enjoying my job. It is new and different all day long.  Monotony is rare, and I really do have fun most of the time.   My best friend's wedding festivities are almost over. Lord, let me enjoy every moment of the planning and excitement.  I am overwhelmed and over it all lately.  Totaled up how much I've spent as MOH... you don't even want to know. 
We went camping over the weekend and had a much needed getaway.

I've been working out 3-4 days a week and watching my diet. So far, I'm 18lbs down and feel so much better overall.  I even miss working out on days I miss. 
So far this year, we are on track for our Debt-scapade for 2016. We have paid off the credit card, Jackson's car, and the Washer and Dryer.  Next is Jackson's tools and my car, then school.  Slow and steady wins this race.  As of April 15, we have paid off $3,000 in debt!