No-Spend November Has Begun!!

Okay ladies and gents, it is Day 3 of No-Spend November. I've had so many people jump on board with this idea, and it's exciting! How has it been going? So far I've spent $40 on gas this week. And I turned down a date with myself to Costa Vida. Which was...tough. As I'm sure I have previously stated, I keep Costa Vida in business. Speaking of CV, here's a spending secret. So Costa has a daily $6 special, which is a decently sized meal with a drink included. Each day the special changes, but if you're a student, you can order any special on any day. Six bucks, folks!!! But this time, instead of eating out, it's an extra $6 I saved. Instead I ate at home, which was actually pretty good! Lemon garlic spaghetti is yummy. And cheap.

So like I promised, I'm doing some research about some money-saving ideas. But until I find some great tips for you guys, here are a few things I've found that I'll let you know about.

1. Have you discovered Winco? I just did a few weeks ago. Yes, it's a little far if you live in Provo, but once a month or so it's definitely worth the trip. Because it's employee-owned, somehow their prices are able to remain lower. $2.00 Special K? Yes please. Parmesan cheese, which I cook quite a bit with, is about $3-4 for a block rather than the $5-7 at other grocery stores. Guys, this place is a gold mine. Wincofoods.com has some great coupons, too.

2. Plato's Closet and Trendy Xchange are both consignment stores in the Provo/Orem area. I will freely admit that I'm a clothes horse. And I don't wear a lot of what I own. So every month I clean out my entire closet and sell some of the good quality things I don't wear anymore to one of these places. I've made up to $75 in one go on my old clothes. And if you don't mind the idea of wearing clothes that someone else has worn a few times before, stores like these are great places to shop. Remember when I fell in love with these shoes? Consignment store, baby.

Do you have some great saving tips? Want to guest post on this lovely little blog? Leave a comment below. Also check out what my friend Breanna has to say about her No-Spend November experience over here. Nighty-night! I'll leave you with this little gem. Don't judge me, but I might do this to my little chitlins someday.

I Feel Pretty

I'm just going to resurrect two of my favorite commercials. Aren't days when you feel like this the absolute best?

No-Money November

Pinterest

"One of the better ways to simplify our lives is to follow the counsel we have so often received to live within our income, stay out of debt, and save for a rainy day. We should practice and increase our habits of thrift, industry, economy, and frugality. Members of a well-managed family do not pay interest; they earn it." L. Tom Perry, "Let Him Do It With Simplicity," November 2008 Ensign

I think I've mentioned this before, but for the last couple of months I've been taking care of myself financially (except for my foot. Thank you, parents, for paying that little medical bill). But school, gas, food, and rent have come out of my pocket. And while it can be tough, it's been really fun! I feel like a real adult, learning how to budget and save. My Personal Finance class has definitely been a huge help, as well. Because of this, I decided to do a little challenge next month. I'm going to call it No-Spend November. I'm not going to buy anything except the essentials: food, gas, and rent. No clothes, no toys, nothing. I want to see if I can do this for a whole month. Want to join me? Leave a comment at the bottom and we'll work on it together. I'll even post tips and tricks I've found to help you save some dinero every day. Here's to saving!

Awkwards and Awesomes

I've always liked reading the Awkward and Awesome posts that other bloggers have done in the past, but I've never really jumped on that bandwagon. Until now. My life has been so great/bizarre/scary/uplifting/confusing that I have to share. Drumroll please.

Awkward:

- Catching two people you know make out in their car. In the parking lot. In broad daylight. No dears, don't stop to wave to me. As you were.

- Walking past a couple breaking up in the library. THE LIBRARY? Honey, if he's going to break up with you in the BYU library, where everyone can see you, you don't want to be with him anyway. Although in his defense maybe he decided to do it there so she wouldn't cause a scene.

- Falling asleep in my Linguistics class (after a night of 8 hours of sleep, mind you), only to wake up because my leg twitched and kicked the seat in front of me. Hard.

- Learning how to walk again after removing my medical boot FOR GOOD. I walk like a duck now.

- Making a phone call at work to a person named "Charles Sheen" and wanting really badly to ask if he was winning.

- Having a girl from my home ward come up to me on campus and calling me "Whitney," who is my sister. I didn't correct her and pretended, in fact, to be Whitney. Guess that's more awkward for her than for me.

- Rocking out to Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" in my car at a stoplight, only to realize that a group of guys in the car next to me were pointing and laughing.

- Speaking in Sacrament Meeting with my Relief Society presidency, all of us with the same topic. And then realizing my entire talk was given before I even got up to speak. I don't do well making things up as I go.

Awesome:

- Going to a Stake Relief Society fireside only to be told exactly what I need to hear. Life is good!

- Discovering WinCo and all the money it saves me.

- Getting the afore-mentioned medical boot off FOR GOOD!

- Costa Vida dinners with my friend Kaitlin. And opening up a Costa Vida points card because we all know I keep them in business.

- Knowing that my mom and little brother are coming to visit me this weekend. Hooray! I need my mom.

- Finding the best place to buy clothes. Maybe if you're nice I'll share my secret.

- The Fall leaves in Provo Canyon. I don't think I've ever seen anything as beautiful.

- Halloween is 11 days away! What are YOU going to be?

There you have it. My life is awkward and awesome. I would say about 60% awkward and 40% awesome.

Of Being Happy

Here's to another week of being happy.

1. Packages in the mail from Mom.

2. General Conference.

3. WinCo. It's a bit of a drive, but definitely worth the savings every once in a while.

4. After today, I won't have to speak in Sacrament meeting for a long time to come. Hopefully.

5. Stake Relief Society firesides in which the speaker says exactly what I needed to hear. There's nothing wrong with being unmarried at 22!

6. Knowing that I might get to visit Washington, D.C. in the Spring. D.C. Cherry Blossom Festival, here I come!

7. Knowing that Thanksgiving in Lake Tahoe is getting closer and closer by the minute.

8. Internship interviews! Not so happy: waiting to hear back from them.

9. Father of the Bride parts 1 and 2 on Netflix.

10. Finally being able to exercise again after this darn foot injury.

What makes you happy?

I'm a Mormon

This is great.

To find out more about what I believe, visit mormon.org

GC Weekend

I had a lovely little weekend. I spent the majority of it watching General Conference. It was perfect. Cinnamon rolls, warm Fall weather, and even a session at the Conference Center made it the perfect weekend. I think the most exciting thing, however, is that President Monson announced that Provo will be getting a second temple! The Provo Tabernacle, which burned down last year, will be renovated and turned into a new temple. Here's what it is supposed to look like:

Isn't it beautiful?

Here are a few other images from the weekend. I wish General Conference was held four times a year instead of just twice.