JULY’S 10 THINGS

Another month has come and gone so it’s time for another edition of our monthly 10 things. I missed June’s 10 things. I didn’t have 10 things to say! I was buried in  new born twin life aka feeding babies and changing diapers 24/7. July was a little different and we were able to venture out a bit more. Can’t believe it’s about to be August! Here are 10 things that have been on my mind, some personal finance related and some not. 

WE WENT CAMPING.

We took the babies on their first camping trip this month! We did dispersed camping a couple hours away from home. I figured it was close enough that if the babies were miserable we could load up the car and head home at any point. But they did great! Slept really good and just loved being in nature. Right before we turned in for the night though this giant palo verde beetle  (seriously look them up, they are so gross looking) would not leave us alone! We’d kick it far far away and it kept coming back and literally hissing at us. None of us knew at the time that they are actually harmless, and I spent a goodly portion of the night with my eyes wide open certain it was going to come eat us. Other than that, it was super fun to be up in the mountains enjoying cooler air. Camping is by far one of our favorite frugal past times. 

WE MADE AN EXTRA STUDENT LOAN PAYMENT. 

We made an extra student loan payment this month for the first time in FOREVER. #thankscovid. We are working on building up our savings again before we dive deep into big extra payments but it felt really good to make a move towards our goal to be debt free by the end of next year. 

WE CELEBRATED THE 4TH OF JULY.

We have a tradition of doing a family triathlon every 4th of July. This year I did it by myself haha. Danny stayed home and hung out with the twins and M. We spent the rest of the day at the pool, smoking tri tip, making delicious treats, and lighting our own fireworks since all of the firework shows around here got canceled.

WE WORKED. 

I never really imagined that I would feel as thankful for work as I feel these days but Danny not being able to go to work for 8 weeks while I was simultaneously not taking a paycheck definitely made me feel thankful! It was nice to have just a normal-ish month as far as work stuff goes. Just wanted to bring this up because if there is anything that the rona has made me grateful for, it’s the mundane tasks that I so take for granted otherwise.

WE WENT TO LAKE POWELL.

We used some credit card rewards points and went and stayed at the Lake Powell resort! We met Danny’s parents there and had a grand time boating, hiking, wake boarding, cliff jumping, swimming, and all the glorious things that happen at Lake Powell. We love Lake Powell. We fell in love at Lake Powell! One of our kids was given the middle name of Powell because of Lake Powell.

WE CLEANED UP OUR EATING.

After the 4th of July, we committed to eating healthier. Well I committed to eating a little healthier. Danny committed to like crazy hard core eating healthy. And he’s lost 15 pounds! I love when we get into a routine of eating healthy because we always save money. We eat out less and we aren’t overspending on treats. 

WE STARTED WORKING OUT FROM HOME. 

In addition to eating healthier, we’ve started working out from home since all of the gyms closed back down here in Arizona. I’ve never been a huge fan of working out at home, I just feel like I can get in the zone so much better at a gym. But I gotta say, with the exercise bands we have and the routine we’ve gotten in, it’s been going well! If you need some eating healthy plus debt payoff motivation, check out my e-book, Phased. It’ll kick your fitness and finances into gear in 10 short weeks. 

WE ARE ALMOST BETA TESTING THE APP.

You know how they say building a house will cost twice as much and take twice as long as you think it will? It’s true of building apps as well. At least that has definitely been our experience with our debt payoff app. That being said, it is starting beta testing which means it will be launching shortly! It has been quite the process and we are so excited to share it with you. 

WE BLESSED OUR BABIES.

We had a family over to our home and we blessed our babies this month. It was small and intimate and we just love these babies so much! 

WE STARTED SCHOOL.

Our 5 year old started Kindergarten this month. It’s impressive what they are able to do online but I sure can’t wait for the day where he can physically go to school! Selfishly because it’s extremely hard to sit next to him during his kindergarten class and help him mute and unmute at the appropriate times and then making him sit in a chair and stare at a screen (something I otherwise try to prevent all day). It’s weird. Still, I’m thankful that he could at least start school remotely and I bet we’ll figure out how to make it work a little better for us around here. 

WE SURVIVED.  

I’ve gotta tell ya, I was pretty nervous to have twins. I was certain we were going to have to hire a night time nanny and a mother’s helper during the day. And then when covid hit, I was even more nervous. But all things considered, things are going pretty well! I haven’t had to hire either of those yet (but I’m staying open to the idea if things get really hard ha). The babes are seriously just amazing babies so far. Good eaters, good sleepers, no colic. Literally the exact opposite of their big brother haha. Anyway, I say we survived because sometimes it’s the small things we forget to celebrate– the fact that we’re all healthy and happy is worth mentioning indeed. 

How was your July? Share some of your things with me! 

Looking for ways to save money? Check out our frugal living articles here. 

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