The $1,000 Plan: Day Forty

It is Day Forty of The $1,000 Plan and the financial goal of saving $1,000 that I set all those many, many weeks ago is, I am thrilled to say, now achieved.

This goal set so many weeks ago, managed to come to fruition within the set timeframe of 4 - 6 weeks and I am delighted, and also somewhat weary, all at the same time.

What a journey it has been!

Over the last 40 days it has been a time that has had its highs and also its lows. There have been times where it has taken some determined willpower to persevere and push on through, because discouragement had tried so awfully hard to step in occasionally and take hold of the steering wheel I was endeavouring to hold on to a set and specific course.

I have baked up a storm. I have cooked, compiled and frozen meals literally for hours around other commitments. I am sure I have frozen more muffins and meals than has ever been placed, in such a short space of time, in our freezer.

It has been a time of doing more selective shopping and purchasing. It has been a time of weighing up and reevaluating what was really needed, against what was perhaps just wanted.

It has been a time of deliberately using less overhead lighting and being more conscious of how we are using various household utilities.

There have been those family members who have probably gleefully thought how sweet it was they got some chores taken off them. There have been those on the other hand whose workload on the chore front has increased.

It has been a block of time, 40 days, which contained a great deal of active change and also reflection. It has perhaps been somewhat of an eye opening for those in my household that habitually wanted to do things only one way, to see that things CAN be done differently, and doing things differently CAN be wise and fruitful.

The $1,000 Plan has come to fruition, and the $1,000 savings now tucked away are a source of satisfaction, as they are no longer just funds that was once only a dreamy, wishful hope.

"There are secret miracles hidden in the midst of every challenge," is a quote I recently read online by author, Alexandra Franzen, and it is indeed very true.

There have been a number of positive, constructive results alongside the overall hoped for result of now having $1,000 in savings tucked away.

When you learn (and so much better master) that it doesn't matter what anyone else says; when you learn that no one else's opinion need be more important than your own; then and only then, you are just that much closer to actually obtaining what your mind is set on.

When you finally learn that keeping on with keeping on IS the way forward. When you finally learn that regardless of the voices or circumstances around you, regardless of how many knocks repeatedly turn up and come along the way, that you just must persist and keep going...................then, and only then, are you truly literally going to see your goal become an actuality.

When you get up and keep going step by step, no matter what comes against you, it is highly likely you WILL end up making the most of everything that is at your disposal, and you will be so much closer today to your goal than you were the day before.

It is those who get up and persist that realise that determination and perseverance can both be such incredible breakthrough tools. Every knock, every failure....... sheer determination and perseverance can cast aside and ride them over, again and again and again, and the goal WILL be achieved.

Challenges can be opportunities for failure and throwing in the towel, or they can be amazing, outstanding opportunities to hold faster, and never let go regardless, until the desired success is obtained.

We often need time to figure out what best to set in place. We need to figure out that, whatever it takes, we will persist no matter what.

We often need to figure out that one of the most essential breakthrough keys at our disposal is to be extra doggedly determined to see our goal come to be.

We need to figure out that by going the distance committedly, no matter what obstacles ever raise their ugly heads, that we will without a doubt eventually in time have our goal come to be.

The $1,000 Plan is no longer just a plan. It is no longer a journey being taken by my own household. It is no longer just an attempt to reach a goal, ride out and over some obstacles, and obtain a constructive, positive financial breakthough.... The $1,000 Plan has worked out, and its outcome has become an actuality; and it is truly wonderful to finally have that very amount of money now saved in the actual bank.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Nine

It is Day Thirty-Nine of The $1,000 Plan and today was another day of working on menu preparations around our usual day to day routines and homeschooling. We were able to bake a bulk batch of cheese scones, plus a big pot of pasta during the day, and by late evening it was all put away in the chest freezer ready to use whenever required.

My young son was keen to have a go at helping make the cheese scones, so it was a good life skill learning experience for him. It was lovely to see him quickly grasp the various aspects of prepping the scones and he soon took over putting each tray in the oven and following through the process to see the finally products laid out on cooling racks, ready to be later bagged for the freezer.

I appreciated the time we worked on this together, and it was also wonderful to walk away later knowing that on a number of levels today's baking session had been a really great success. Not only was there more food preparation achieved, there had been some good and valuable life skills imparted to a keen young baker also.

We also spent some time in the afternoon visiting friends. I enjoyed catching up with my friend while our children all played together, and it was interesting being able to reflect a little with her about how things have gone while working towards The $1,000 Plan.

Mindset really is crucial when it comes to working towards any and all goals. We view and experience life and the world, from the point of view that the most prevalent mindset we hold determines.

It is sometimes a lot of sheer hard work, and very determined will power, that propels us to keep going when others around us may be projecting a lot of negativity. Mindset really is everything, and it determines an awful lot, both day to day, as well as long term. May the breakthroughs needed and desired indeed be achieved.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Eight

It's Day Thirty-Eight of The $1,000 Plan and I spent time cooking up several items to go into the freezer. I am pleased with the resulting outcome and it will certainly be nice to have things ready onhand in the freezer, that can simply be defrosted and then put straight into the oven (minus the plastic lid).

I plan to do further bulk cooking tomorrow, if time allows and hopefully then we will have a good stock of items onhand for the weeks ahead. It is so much nicer to be able to take a prepared meal out from the freezer the night before, and not have to do all the preparations from scratch each and every time.

There are some days when it is just so busy, and when the day proves to be also tiring, having a prepared freezer meal helps to lessen the load. I have also grocery shopped this evening, so I am hoping that alongside the soups and fruit crumbles I prepared today, I will also be able to put together several bulk pasta and rice dishes. These will all be good to have sorted out and ready onhand as well, and it will add a bit more of a selection into the mix also.

Our grocery bills have lessened over the past month, and I am a lot more conscious of where the grocery budget has been going. Menu planning really is advantageous on so many levels I am finding. I am planning to fine tune it even a little more over the coming weeks, and then I am aiming to recruit another household member (one at a time) to come onboard and learn how to do a bulk menu plan for a month also.

Until then however, I am personally being kept quite busy. Some days, (like yesterday and today, when there is a bit of a 'soup-fest' occurring at the stovetop alongside homeschooling the children), are proving to feel quite like longer and more tiring days at present. Yet, they are also days where there is an extra sense of accomplishment occurring because they are so productive on the food planning and budgeting front.

Rome was most certainly not built in a day, and each step IS proving to be very conducive to positive change. Step by step, day by day, the good habits needed to achieve The $1,000 Plan's hoped for outcome are all gradually being literally worked out. Yay! Yippee! Yay!

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Seven

It is Day Thirty-Seven of The $1,000 Plan and today was a day of making bulk lots of soup and pasta sauce. Having cleared the chest freezer, it was apparent that we could make a lot of delicious and heart-warming soup and sauces for the coming weeks, with what we had tucked away and onhand.

While the children were horse-riding I went into town to do errands, and I also looked at what options I could potentially explore for setting up a better storage system within the chest freezer also. The Warehouse had quite a good range of freezer-to-oven options of glass storageware.

Having received some birthday money, I thought it might be a worthwhile investment to purchase and try some of them out, over the next little while, and see if we find it works well to have a dual purpose type of food container for bulk cooked ready-to-cook meals. I personally like the idea of having less containers to wash up and clear, if a container can be used both in the freezer and in the oven. We shall therefore see how it goes.

In the meantime, around our usual day to day activities this week, there is most certainly a huge cook up happening, and I am sincerely hoping this will lighten the load for a while when it comes to thinking through what to cook each day for our main meal.

I found a lot of fruit in amongst the freezer contents also, so I am thinking such things as fruit crumble, perhaps some fruit pies, might be on the cooking agenda this week also. We shall see how time and energy allows for this to happen.

In the meantime, what soup was had today by everyone was enjoyed, and the country vegetable soup that was busy still cooking, yet sampled by a few keen taste-testers, was deemed most yummy also. The freezer makeover is most definitely already making a difference for the $1,000 Plan.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Six

It's Day Thirty-Six of The $1,000 Plan and today I took up starting the challenge I set myself of sorting out the chest freezer. Alongside our usual homeschool and home life routine for a Monday, I removed everything from the freezer and went about defrosting the freezer to give it a bit of a clean-out.

There was a lot of ice build up within the freezer, so the children offered to help me and they seemed quite delighted to muck in, declaring it rather like shuffling around shovelling a bit of icy snow! Between us, we managed to eventually get it completely cleared and ready for items to be placed back in it. Going forward, I am sure the freezer will work so much more efficiently now it is cleared of it's extra icy parcels, found previously here and there.

I was amazed at just how much we had been storing away in the freezer. As I worked my way through looking through everything, sadly there was quite a bit that had to simply go out to the compost.

We had little meat left in the chest freezer after the past month of 'shopping' it first & foremost for meals, so what was now left and found was mainly garden produce that had been blanched and frozen previously. Still, there was quite a bit that could be saved and I am looking to see how best to make the most of what was located during this big sort and clearout.

I need to still determine a good system of overall organization for this particular freezer. It would be wise to keep a more thorough record of the actual 'best before' dates of every item, and to somehow have a large onhand chartable system that we can refer to, in order to keep a much better system of rotation in place. This will be something I will most definitely need to put greater thought into in the next few days.

There is quite a bit of a revamp and makeover needed to get the freezer in much better shape going forward, however I really think it will be time well worth investing. Slowly, but surely I am sure each of these changes we are implementing will have substantial financial benefits. The $1,000 Plan is being worked out, step by step, in some very productive and practical ways.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Five

It is Day Thirty-Five of The $1,000 Plan and we celebrated a couple of birthdays within our household over the weekend. Celebrating such momentous occasions as birthdays can still be done in a way that creates lovely memories, even when you are on a limited budget. As a household, we made the best of what we had, to ensure that it was still indeed somewhat special for those whose birthdays occurred this past weekend.

A lovely card, a gift of handpicked flowers, a yummy surprise afternoon tea arriving with afternoon visitors, a block of favourite chocolate..... these were just some of the things that helped make celebrating these current birthdays special.

Creativity and innovation can help make a celebration special, no matter what your budget is. People can still come away with special memories, when things are kept simple and the focus is on memory-making.

We all enjoyed the simple, quiet celebrations that occurred over the weekend, and it all worked well towards helping us work steadily and quietly away towards our savings goal of The $1,000 Plan also. Saving and celebrating can walk well together, hand in hand, when there are seasons in life that call for it.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Four

It is Day Thirty-four of The $1,000 Plan and the nightly routine of getting muffins out from the deep freezer has been working well. I think I need to do a big sort out of the chest freezer really soon, and determine for sure what IS still currently stored in it.

It has been quite some time since anyone had a sort through both the chest freezer, as well as the fridge freezer, in our household. With the saving goal of The $1,000 Plan, it would be really advantageous for this to be done. With the freezer contents better sorted asap, the 'shopping' of both freezers will be done even more efficiently.

I am hoping I will not discover there is actually a lot of food wastage, particularly in the deeper part of the chest freezer, as this area, under the top storage baskets has been unexplored territory in some ways for quite a while.

It is to be hoped that a good proportion of the freezer contents, deeper down in this particular freezer, will still be okay.

I really do need to come up with a more efficient method of record keeping for the contents of both freezers, particularly when it comes use-by-dates, etc. Now, is most definitely the point in time to see to it that it happens.

There really is no point keeping items in a freezer, and then finding out that there was unnecessary food spoilage, simply because items are hidden behind and deep under other items, and unfortunately it has since become forgotten about, and has sadly past its food safe time limit.

I think in the next week I will set myself the goal of doing a bit of an audit and sort out in the actual deep chest freezer, as well as in the smaller freezer under the fridge in the kitchen, if time allows for me to achieve doing both. At least if I do one of them, it will be a good step forward.

Being able to shop the pantry and freezer really is advantageous, when you are trying to work with a limited food budget.

It does make perfectly good and logical sense to have great systems in place, in order to keep tabs on what is in a freezer and available for use.

There are some good examples online, on such things as Pinterest, as to how others have approached organizing their freezers, so I need to do a little more research and then most definitely make a plan to come up with a system that will meet my own households needs that bit more efficiently.

As I continue to endeavour to be more efficient time-wise, energy-wise and money-wise when it comes to menu planning and food preparation, having a better system of organization and management for frozen goods can only be a good thing going forward, for sure!

Who knows! I might just find there is more than a week's worth of delicious, yummy meals already right here at my finger tips, just waiting to be defrosted. This week's goal is looking to be a potentially really good one.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Three

It is Day Thirty-Three of The $1,000 Plan. Today was a day in which I was reminded how incredibly valuable community is. When you have people that you connect with, and whose interaction with you is one of encouragement, support, and good old fashioned fellowship, it really makes life so rich and blessed.

Part of the day was spent out visiting with a friend. It was so lovely to get together once again, to share, to connect, and engage in that most beautiful of exchanges that happens between good friends.

When you are comfortable with each other, when there is acceptance, when there is understanding always so evident, it makes life so rich.

When time and experience has taught you that this person before you is one able to be trusted, that their loyalty is open handedly offered to you,  it really is a precious jewel worthy of great gratitude.

Fellowship. It is perhaps in the eyes of some an old fashioned word, but for me I think it captures so well the benefit, of being connected with someone in a moment in time and space.

A simple cold drink can be offered and somehow it tastes so much more refreshing, because the one offering it to you offers it with lots of kindness and care attached.

There is something about being able to share a dream, a hope, a goal with a trusted friend and know that out of love and care for you, they hear you out, and they unconditionally express a sincere and genuine desire to see you succeed, simply because they accept you and value you for being you.

It was a rich day today. It was one that contained time with a good friend and somehow lightness of soul and perseverance blossomed again. Kindness watered parched areas of a soul that had been touched a little of late by discouragement. It was a refreshing day. True friendship is indeed one of life's most precious treasures.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-Two

It is Day Thirty-Two of The $1,000 Plan and today I want to look at the care we need to take to keep discouragement at bay. It is super tough to keep persevering when your breakthrough seems to be so far off. Discouragement can creep in and take up residence and it can be very hard to shake off.

Discouragement can lead to depression. It is even harder to shake of depression once it takes hold and it really can floor you on so many levels. Depression can floor you literally and figuratively. When it starts to actually mess with you on a chemical level, it can indeed make you bed-ridden.

With the three steps forward, two steps backward experience at present, of working towards saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks, I started to struggle this morning with discouragement. The winter weather has been extra cold and gloomy these past few days and that hasn't helped on the mood front much either.

Discouragement hit me personally hard this morning. I quickly had to face straight on how much I need to keep on with activities that keep me on my feet and keep me literally moving, in order to to counteract discouragement wanting to sweep in and knock me over.

There was a paramount need for me to keep myself up on my feet, and to keep myself busy and therefore productive, as that was going to be the key to help me ride out this looming literal and figurative darkness, and the potential for it all to rob me of precious time, energy and personal endeavour to achieve my goal.

We have to work out our goals, step by step, day by day, there simply is no other way. Being productive works it out into reality. It makes it come to be. It makes it happen. It brings what we desire to fruition.

Yes, I could indeed be robbed by letting discouragement, depression, a negative mindset sweep in and take over the reins and led me on a totally different path. However, what a complete and utter waste of time, energy and actual money that would prove to be!

To counteract how I was starting to feel, I knew I had to get myself on my feet and literally moving. Sitting having a pity party was NOT going to make my goal come to fruition. Not one tiny, minute bit! I chose instead to put on my warmest slippers and got on with doing some biscuit baking... and everyone loves some homemade biscuits, don't they!

When discouragement turns up at your door, you need to shut that door firmly and securely and go seek out what will bless you instead (a tray or two of biscuits was the blessing that came my way today!) When discouragement turns up to seep into our thinking, we need to seek out doing that which will keep us busy and keep us productive. Our minds are less likely to go down a dark and gloomy path if they are engaged in tasks that keep the focus on what is real, and present, and needing some significant attention in the moment.

We need to know where we want to go, what we want to achieve and hang in there with every ounce of our willpower.  We need to keep working out, and working at, that which is positive and constructive. We need to go about doing practical things that, step by step, add up to the change coming to fruition. We have to keep our eye on the prize and not let our gaze be distracted or shifted one millimetre. Keep the focus on the focus!

If we keep going, if we keep putting one foot in front of the other, step by step, we will achieve everything that pertains to our dream, our vision, our goal. We just have to keep going with keeping on going!

Don't give up when it hurts. Don't give up when you just don't know if you are going to get there. Keep going. One foot in front of the other, step by step. Keep going!

When you experience a hiccup, or your belief in your success is shaken, just keep going. When something comes out of the blue (like a washing machine suddenly breaking down, such was the case in our household last week), do what is needed and then just regroup and get back on to making your financial goal happen.

Don't let excuses rob you of your goal being mastered. Don't. You have to keep on with keeping on until what you want comes to be. You have to keep on with making the result come and the outcome work out. You have to keep going for longer than you may have thought, but you just have to keep going.

Don't play the role of naysayer within your own head. Remember to guard your thoughts and be wise about when negative thinking has decided to try and take over the throne of your mind again. Call a negative mindset out and send it firmly packing. Keep on with keeping on!

If you haven't achieved your goal yet, you are just not quite there yet. Just keep going!

Put those walking/tramping/marching boots on again inside your mind, as you regroup your thoughts to set the sails once again towards a constructive, positive destination, and then, stride out towards your goal as before! You have got this! It IS going to be worth it.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty-One

The $1,000 Plan: Day Thirty

It is Day Thirty of The $1,000 Plan, and it is exactly a month since I started working towards the goal of saving $1,000 within 4 - 6 weeks. How have the last thirty days gone? Where am I at with achieving this goal? Have things worked out favourably financially over this time for my household to achieve the hoped for outcome within just thirty days only?

The last thirty days have not been without their challenges. Just when I was hopeful of achieving the hoped for financial breakthrough, we have had unanticipated costs for repairs come along to nip at our ankles.

The washing machine, which has faithfully worked up until now, decided at the end of last week to stop working. It is going to need at least one if not two new parts, and this of course costs money. The toilet in the ensuite bathroom has also ended up with a leak that we just can not work out how to fix, and so a plumber is now booked to come also.

So sadly, within less than a month we now have some unforseen expenses turn up for our household. What money was saved towards the $1,000 goal and could have been put away for something akin to a sunny holiday kind of day, is now instead being used for the current household maintenance and repairs that need addressing.

Such is life it would appear, that you have to go several steps forward, and also several steps backwards sometimes, before the real breakthrough comes your way.

It seems so unfair doesn't it, when you are doing everything you can to step forward and have a positive change come your way, and things that are pretty much out of your control turn up and knock your goal that bit further out of reach.

Could we have reached our goal and had money in the bank for something more exciting like a holiday? Potentially I am guessing yes we could have.

Instead we have for now, money in the bank ready to pay for those things that need to be fixed and need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. The perk of it all, there is not the added stress of having to borrow against a credit card or seek a similar more costly loan financing option instead at present.

At the heart of it, being able to save money by looking at what can be adjusted has aided our household, even if the result was perhaps not as wonderful currently as I would have hoped. I am guessing that it will take several more weeks to recover what money is used on paying for these repairs to be done, so I will still keep working away quietly at trying to achieve my goal.

Life happens, and things do surprise us out of the blue sometimes. When you have some savings tucked away it at least makes the experience of facing such surprises, such as having to repair a major appliance, somewhat less stressful to deal with.

Sometimes it takes a little longer to reach a goal that was hoped for. We can feel discouraged and it is okay to have the feelings for a bit. However, the real difference will be made by persevering and keeping on until the goal is in fact truly achieved.

The sun was out today, and I enjoyed having a cup of tea whilst I sat for a time out in it. While there may be a grey cloud or two along the way, we can believe in our goal, our vision, our dream and just keep going.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Nine

It's Day Twenty-Nine of The $1,000 Plan and tomorrow we will finally be at Day 30. It has been a busy 30 days, and tomorrow I will share where we are at with regard to achieving our $1,000 savings goal.

Is it possible to save $1,000 within a 4 - 6 weeks timeframe?

Is it achievable to meet such a goal when you are a single income family?

With hindsight, what would we choose to do differently?

Are there things that worked particularly well, or proved to be quite difficult or challenging?

What were there advantages and disadvantages that stood out during this time?

What were the hardest/easiest changes to make as a household, in order to try and help ourselves achieve the potential financial breakthrough goal we set?

Watch out for tomorrow's blogpost for the details, on how the last 30 days of The $1,000 have panned out.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Eight

It is Day Twenty-Eight of The $1,000 Plan and today I chose to make some cinnamon rolls. I thought they would be a nice alternative to having muffins for breakfast each morning. Here is the recipe I used, for those who also might like to make them also. 

Cinnamon Rolls 

This recipe makes approximately 22 large cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients:

8 cups of Organic Flour
8 tbspns Organic Raw Sugar
8 tspns Baking Powder 
2 tspns Salt
100g Butter, melted
2 1/2 cups Rice Milk*
4 eggs

Cinnamon Filling:

2 cups Organic Raw Sugar
2 cups White Sugar ***
4 tbspns Ground Cinnamon

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees celsius. Brush a baking tray with 2 - 3  tablespoons of melted butter (Please Note: It is important to make sure the tray is well greased, otherwise the rolls with stick).
2. Sift flour, raw sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. 
3.  Beat the milk and eggs together in another bowl, and then add this and the melted butter at the same time to the flour mixture. Stir all combined ingredients until a soft dough forms**.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured work surface and roll out dough until it is in the form of a 1/4-inch thick rectangle.
5. Brush some additonal melted butter across the surface of the prepared dough with a pastry brush.
6. Sift the white sugar, raw sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. 
7. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture over the prepared dough. 
8. Roll dough with the filling so that it forms a log. 
9. Cut the resulting log into 1/4 inch rolls and place each roll onto the prepared baking tray.
10. Bake the rolls in the preheated oven until rolls are golden and set. This will take approximately 20 to 25 minutes.
11. Remove rolls from baking tray and place on a cooling rack.

These cinnamon rolls are lovely served for breakfast.

* Use whatever milk you prefer.
**I found it was best to add some extra flour, when preparing the dough, to turn it out onto the floured work surface.
***I used white sugar in the cinnamon filling, as this was what I had onhand. You could substitute the white sugar for brown sugar.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Seven

It is Day Twenty-Seven of The $1,000 Plan and today we welcomed some friends over to have lunch with us and so the children could have a playdate together.

Can you entertain and still potentially meet a savings goal you want to achieve in a short space of time? 

As mentioned in a previous blogpost in this $1,000 Plan series of posts (The $1,000 Plan: Day Nine blogpost to be exact), it is possible to be hospitable while you work away at a savings goal.

You can be hospitable by making the most of what you have, and by being as welcoming and friendly as you possibly can to those who visit you. People appreciate good, nutritious food and often the simplest of meals can still be one that leaves everyone feeling well fed and cared for.

I wanted to enjoy blessing our visitors who came today with good food as part of being hospitable towards them, and so I chose to prepare delicious tomato soup. 

Food is often such a big part of being hospitable, for both host and the guest. It just adds so much to the experience of endeavouring to be welcoming, friendly and experiencing fellowship together.

From the feedback received, everyone really enjoyed the soup and there was enough for my own family to also have soup later in the day for our evening meal.

I chose to make some cheese muffins go with the soup for our evening meal. Here is the recipe I used, for those who also might like to make some lovely cheese muffins.

Cheese Muffins 

This recipe makes approximately 12 large muffins.

Ingredients:

4 cups of Organic Flour
1 1/2 cups Grated Cheese
8 tspns Baking Powder 
1/2 tspn Salt
100g Butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups Rice Milk*
A pinch of Cayenne Pepper

Method:

1. Mix together the flour, cayenne, salt, baking powder and grated cheese into a bowl. 
2. Stir in the eggs, butter and milk.
3. Spoon mixture into prepared muffin cases. 
4. Before baking, sprinkle a little extra grated cheese on the top of each prepared muffin.
5. Bake at 200 degrees celsius  for 15 minutes or until golden.
6. These are best served warm and are a great accompaniment to soup.

*You may use whatever milk you prefer.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Six

It is Day Twenty-Six of The $1,000 Plan and today I want to again emphasize the importance of guarding your mindset, while you work away at a financial goal (or any other goal for that matter).

Unfortunately, throughout life we often have people come across our path who, on reflection, can be tiring due to their negativity. They are people who give off a draining, low-level energy vibe and you are left feeling tired after you have spent time in their company. Their negative mindset has encroached, both literally and figuratively, on your own outlook and experience of the world about you, and perhaps your hoped for goal and plan now feels a little shaken.

People who often have an underlying predominately negative mindset, one that focuses on lack & limitation, will unwittingly project that mindset on to others. They will voice what is an underlying spirit of pessimism rather than a spirit of optimism. They will often make much-a-do about the cons, and not so much about the pros, from the outset, when any changes are being sought to be embraced.

When you are working towards a goal, a vision or a dream, you need to guard yourself against the influence of those that would try to always sway you down a path of negativity. There is no value at all in dallying with that which is heavily weighted towards the negative, when approaching something new.

There are those who, as you share something of your plan and vision, will feel it is their duty to remind you of all the great possible risks, negative consequences and obstructive possibilities that could come your way, if you try to do things differently.

They will intentionally focus first on what could go wrong, rather than what could go right, because they have sadly developed that habitual negative way of thinking. They over emphasize the what ifs, and the what coulds, from a habitual negative based thinking. They can repeat it again and again, because for them it is worthy of being a noted deal breaker.

They make a big deal of what could go wrong, because from their viewpoint, it is the negatives that will stand out first and foremost with any venture. This is a pattern of thinking that is a habitual way of thinking.

They are the nanny naysayers, and they find people doing something innovative, creative and different, to be people that need to be reminded of risk, the potential danger, that the unchartered territory they may journey over may perhaps hold.

They leave a toxic energy in their wake, and you walk away feeling drained, your ability to make sound judgements questioned and your previous clarity of mind is nothing but clouded. They essentially project that your ability to reason and rationalise is not as good as theirs. This is draining discouragement working at its most potent. Take care!

It can be incredibly challenging to not let these downers bring you down. Their unconscious gift for discouragement can be quite the damp and heavy blanket to pass on.  When you wish to try something new, when you want to work towards a goal, you need to guard your thought life. You need to see with clarity just what it is you are valuing and upholding, and rest assured that it is positive and good for you.

The following are some points that can help when it comes to guarding your own thought life, plus also assist with dealing with a Debbie Downer (that family member, friend, colleague, or some other individual), who rather habitually take a negative stance in response to hearing you share about a plan and hoped for dream.

(1) Create distance. You don't need to ever reply immediately to a Debbie Downer who questions and sends the clear message that they wish to challenge your wisdom or process of decision-making. Take your time.

Where possible, create distance in terms of how much contact you have to literally have with this person for a while if they are overly pessimistic. If necessary also seek to retain ongoing distance as you look to go forward.

Don't go out of your way to seek spending any additional time with them for a while, particularly while you are working through your plans. Should it be necessary or unavoidable to spend time with them, keep any further conversation brief, polite and then calmly turn and proactively walk away when it is clearly time from your perspective for the conversation to alter.

Stand behind a desk or on the other side of an actual physical barrier when interacting with the person, if this will help remind you that this person need not overpower you own sense of personal empowerment.

Having a literal physical barrier can sometimes be just what is needed to help you retain a sense of disengagement from their negative feedback and pessimistic words, while you are in close proximity.

If you are struggling to not feel overwhelmed by their negativity, a literal gap or barrier can help remind you that this person's critical mindset is just not one you are willing to freely allow access to your own thoughts and viewpoint.

(2) Share less. We can sometimes be our own worst enemy in our excitement and enthusiasm. We unwittingly share in too much detail that which is currently dear and precious to us, because we are excited and thrilled about what is unfolding for us. Too much detail and too much information can sometimes be used against us. Know your listener. Pick carefully your listener.

The listener who will no doubt throw a bucket of ice cold water on our dreams and plans, because pessimism is their dominant guiding perspective, is not a listener who warrants hearing about what is precious to us. They simply will not share reciprocating joy in any measure. Share less.

Be discerning about what response anyone may give you. If the listener has a history of always having a negative, obstructive viewpoint no matter the subject, don't go outlaying your plans before them. Pick your audience and your timing wisely.

(3) Do your research carefully. Lay your plans done well by doing sound research. Plans that are not well thought through will prove to be easy fodder for those who routinely want to be criticial. It can be very helpful to have feedback from others, and it is wise to seek it. The pessimist however, will only see red flags if you leave too many out for them to see.  Prepare wisely.

Seek good counsel where and when you are able to, and the benefit will be that your resulting conviction will be even stronger. Pick your audience and be wise in determining what feedback you should in fact take onboard.

It is so much easier to persevere when times do eventually get tough when you have good foundation behind you. It helps to support your conviction to work towards a particular goal when you have quietly done your homework. Lay out what steps you feel are best to take, and lay them out as best you can, from the outset.

(4) Take one step at a time. Rome was not built in a day. It is highly likely that all the pros and cons were not resolved in one day either. Remember to approach your goal one step at a time, one day at a time, and take heart that that IS actually sufficient.

We sometimes have a big picture outlook and have only several steps sorted in which to take us off and along towards achieving a hoped for goal when setting out, and that IS okay. It isn't always the way that things are all sorted before we begin.

Stepping out in faith is sometimes what is required to get started. We can step out to try something new and it is okay to not have all the answers straight away. Sometimes it is on the actual journey towards our goal making that everything finally falls into place. Sometimes it is only then, while we are on the way, that the actual pathway to take is finally revealed.

We can step out and still be learning and seeking wisdom along the way. One step at a time still allows us to practise wisdom and discernment. We can be confident in the current step, while we are still investigating all that is good and right for the next step.

I hope by sharing these points that they will be a source of encouragement. It is always wise to be aware of the pros and cons involved with any endeavour, yet this can be worked through without letting pessimism have a field day.

We can guard our mindset and be wise about looking after the first growing shoots of our hoped for plans and dreams, when working towards a particular goal. When it comes to achieving our goals, a positive, sound mindset is a very, very healthy mindset.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Five

It is Day Twenty-Five of The $1,000 Plan and today I wanted to share & reiterate what have proven to be 5 helpful tips for my own household over the weeks we have been working towards the goal of The $1,000 Plan.

I hope by sharing these 5 helpful tips they may prove to be helpful for your own household, particularly if you are currently endeavouring to achieve a financial breakthrough also.

The 5 helpful tips are as follows:

1. Make using what is currently in your freezer or pantry a priorty, when it comes to planning & making meals. It has helped my own household tremendously, over the weeks we have been working on The $1,000 Plan, to always shop the freezer and food pantry first. If you shop from what you already have at home, to help plan and put together a meal, you are making the most of your current available resources.

With a little creativity, innovation and a bit of research (online or via your collection of recipe books) it can sometimes work out that you can create several meals from just one 500 gram pack of mincemeat. The simplest of ingredients can often surprisingly lend themselves to the most delicious as well as nutritious of meals.

Being able to plan ahead and plan creatively, when it comes to each & every household meal, helps towards achieving a hoped for financial goal. Your freezer might just stock what you need for a week or two of wonderful meals.....it might even supply you with even more!

When you shop your freezer and pantry first before doing a grocery shop, it also helps with keeping track of use by dates of frozen items as well. Rather than discovering sadly that there were items lurking in the depths of the freezer that are now no longer food safe, a regular audit helps to keep food rotation occurring.

Alongside keeping the need to grocery shop within budget being carefully met, by shopping your freezer you are kept up to date with the actual contents of what you have on hand within your freezer. Why discover too late that what you purchased on sale 12 months ago, is now freezer burnt and no longer consumable? Shopping from the freezer or pantry is a very wise means of keeping within a concise food budget as shrewdly as you can.

2. Buy generic brands when you can. With allergies needing to be considered in my household when it comes to product buying, I know firsthand that it can be tricky to work through what can potentially be purchased from amongst the range of cheaper brands of certain products.

I choose to purchase that which does work well for my family members health-wise and budget-wise. You may not be able to buy cheaper generic brands of bread for instance, if you are a gluten-free or dairy-free household, but perhaps you could purchase a generic brand of aluminium foil instead. Choose what will work best for your household and make the most of what options you have available to you.

3. Be more conscious of your electricity consumption. Over the colder, darker winter months it can be particularly challenging to keep your electricity consumption from jumping and steadily increasing. It can be too easy to get caught in the trap of turning overhead lights on as you pass from room to room. It is wise to keep stock of just how much usage you are making of what you have available to you.

It is far better to aim to have everyone on the same page and making a combined effort to not leave lights randomly on about the house, rather than receive a shocker of an electricity bill at the end of any given month.

Can everyone work quietly in the same room with one overhead light and with one source of heating, rather than have people in multiple rooms all using different sources of light and different sources of heating?

Could ambient light be sought out instead during the daylight hours, rather than a light switch being habitually flicked?

Could a hot water bottle or two be used to warm a cold bed, rather than an electrical blanket?

Rather than everyone showering or bathing daily, could you set up a rotation over the colder winter months, so everyone has their shower or bath on alternate days?

Give your use of electricity greater thought, as it can make a significant difference to your overall utility bill each month, and also to how you go about achieving your financial breakthrough goal.

4. Set up automatic payments where you can. When you make partial payments, over a greater length of time, rather than as a lump sum payment biannually or annually it helps to not make things too tight and uncomfortable on the financial front when those payments are finally due. 

It helps cut down the worry that can linger in the back of your mind about making and keeping up with utility payments when you make regular part payments via automation. We have found it helps clarify what is truly left each payday, as those payments that are defined commitments are dealt with first and foremost always, via the automation process.

Keeping on top of payments lessens one's overall worry and stress. Plus, it helps to provide a clearer picture of just how the balance of expenditure versus income is really going. An automatic payment ensures your financial commitments will be served first and served well.

5. Use your surplus to generate additional income. If you have surplus items that you no longer require, it can be wise to look at selling them. We recently sold a no longer required small outdoor shed and are looking forward to using the money gained to purchase some firewood.

Over the winter months it can be a good opportunity to do some decluttering and list things for sale online on Trade Me or other local sale sites. This can sometimes help generate some additional income and help aid achieving your hoped for financial goal. 

The bonus of decluttering is that you not only gain extra space around your home & property, but you also gain some potential extra dollars also. These are both wonderful pluses, when it comes to making the most of your current resources and what is surplus. 

It really is my sincere hope that by sharing these 5 helpful tips, they may prove to be helpful for your own household, particularly if you are currently endeavouring to achieve a financial breakthrough also. It takes perseverance and often courage to make changes, and where we can learn and gain from the experiences of others, I personally have always appreciated having the insights shared with me. May these 5 tips prove to be helpful for someone else also.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Four

It's Day Twenty-Four of The $1,000 Plan and today I wanted to share some words of encouragement. Words of encouragement give so much. They are what lift us from feeling down & discouraged, and often they give us in a timely fashion just what we need: further courage.

The $1,000 Plan was and is a plan to achieve a financial breakthrough over a 4 - 6 week timeframe. Encouragement is a valuable tool to achieve such a goal. Here are several key points of encouragement that I wanted to share via today's blogpost:

Continue to work faithfully away at that which you have put your hand to. 

Perseverance makes a huge difference towards achieving a desired outcome. Practising perseverance, is key to aiding your mindset see abundance and positive change come to fruition. You've got this. Keep going. Do keep persevering.

Remember the value of being part of a community. When we contribute and give to others, we in turn are often given just what is needed also. By sharing from our abundance, we bless others. When they in turn share with us, we are also all the more richer. 

Be open to seeing where you are already experiencing abundance and blessing. Be at peace about being generous and share where you can with those who are your community. Joy is sure to be a reward for your courage, your kindness and your generosity.

Dream and visions often get worked out, step by step, by putting on diligence daily. Be conscientious, be earnest and keep up the good work needed, regardless of how little progress you may currently see. 

Wintertime on the surface looks to be a time with little happening. Yet deep inside, hidden away, each and every tree is about to be fully ready for Springtime. 

Likewise, you may not think you see anything like the end result being about to happen just yet, but you are most definitely on the journey to it coming about. Keep on with keeping on. You have got this.

Guard your mindset. Guard your thoughts as well as your words and actions. Do not let others discourage you with their lack of vision and their focus on limitations. A positive mindset is a healthy mindset. 

When you want a financial breakthrough, there is no room for a poverty mentality to be in control of the steering of your mind. Seek out that which will buoy you over, seek that which will keep you working steadily away at your goal, and what will keep you on target for your plan. 

The $1,000 Plan is the $1,000 Plan, it is not a plan for anything less. Embrace those constructive steps that will aid you. Make changes where you need to, and persist with what is working well. A breakthrough can be achieved. 

It is my hope that the above words of encouragement may be a source of inspiration for anyone perhaps also seeking to work on achieving a financial breakthrough now, or at some other point soon.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Three

It's Day Twenty-Three of The $1,000 Plan and today I thought it would be helpful to discuss one of the biggest mindset blocks that exist when it comes to achieving a financial breakthrough.

"It is too risky." 

"You can't spend that amount of money!"

"It is best to be safe."

"It's only temporary."

"No one else I know has done that."

"My situation would be better if only XYZ hadn't happened to me."

A poverty mentality is one of the biggest mindset blocks, one of the strongest glass ceilings that people have to breakthrough when it comes to seeking to make a financial breakthrough. A poverty mentality is a habitual behaviour that colours thinking and resulting action (or in a lot of a cases inaction), and it is not constructive.

Engaging in limiting thoughts has been proven by numerous actual studies to have a detrimental effect on what actions we choose to take, and most significantly, also on one's actual health.

A poverty mentality is a mindset learnt in childhood. Those that grew up in a household where the focus was more often than not on lack and limitations, end up embracing a lifelong mindset that sets them up for living a life with underlying habitual habits that reinforce that very outcome; one of continual lack and limitation. 

The natural law of gaining what we sow manifests just that which we sow: a result and outcome that will always be shaped as lack and limit, when a poverty mindset is at the root of how and what we think about doing. 

A poverty mindset is a very powerful mindset, because it is one that sadly always holds back, always limits and always constrains.

A poverty mentality mindset is a negative mindset. By limiting your ability to succeed within the confines of your thoughts, you put in place the exact outcome you are unwittingly desiring: an outcome focused on lack and limitations. 

Habitual thinking creates patterns of not only thinking, but also of actual behaviour. 

Those who hold fast to a poverty mindset will do the same repetitive constraining behaviour and show an unwillingness to try something new or alternative. They want to stick with what is known, because it is perceived to be safest. They want to emphasise risk as being always a negative to avoid, rather than seeing risk as part & parcel of building a sound launching pad for potential gain. 

Those with a poverty mindset will too easily and quickly abandon any thought of abundance being able to be present in their lives. Rather than seeking out the best alternative of multiple alternatives, those with a poverty mindset will always focus unwittingly on seeking the cheapest, the least, the most limiting of options. They will tolerate discomfort, rather than aim and hold on to obtaining that which would in fact give greater joy. 

Those with a poverty mindset will uphold blame and claim they are the victim of misfortune, rather than taking personal responsibility for just how their own thoughts and actions have shaped the outcomes they are in fact experiencing. A poverty mindset can become the internal jail cell that you do not realise you are in fact occupying.

Start saving what little you can. Make an empowering choice about your financial situations from this very moment, in order to break the cycle of a poverty mindset. By taking that first step to do things differently, you actually will end up doing things differently, and having a completely different and more positive outcome.

Connect with like minded people. Seek out people who have a positive mindset. People who are embracing creativity and innovation. Find those who are endeavouring to implement a plan, a change, a constructive step forward into a new and exciting direction. Leave the naysayers behind you, where they truly belong. Those who have an uplifting attitude will make your own outlook & attitude lift higher.

Monitor and guard your thoughts. It can take time to make the shift within your own mind towards embracing a more positive mindset. Start right now! Be conscious of doing an audit of your thinking from now on. Negative thoughts affect us chemically and therefore health-wise. Take stock of where your thoughts tend to lead you. Some people find reading a positive affirmation each day and displaying it around their home helpful. You need to seek out that which creates a more positive energy for yourself. We create our reality by our perception of the world around us. Be disciplined in your thinking, as that will shape your actions and therefore what outcome you experience.

Embrace your creativity and innovation. The ability to think outside the box is a tremendous gift. There is always more than one way to solve any given problem. Look for possibilities and opportunities. Invest energy in positioning yourself to prosper. Invest in your dream and vision step by step, no matter how long it takes you.

The following are some wonderful words of wisdom about breaking free from a poverty mindset and its resulting fruit:

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.  Proverbs 21:5

Whoever disregards discipline comes to poverty and shame.  Proverbs 13:18

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.  Proverbs 10:4

Stop complaining and seek to focus on making the changes needed to put a sense of lack behind you. Shift your perspective and address your attitude. When you rearrange your thoughts, you rearrange your world. Be the talented, hard-working, good-hearted person that you are and literally seek to see your life go from greater strength to greater strength. Consciously turn your mindset away from one of lack and limitation to one of abundance and fullness, TODAY. The results................................. they will amaze you.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-Two

Sometimes you have to find joy in the little things while working towards a goal. It is Day Twenty-Two of The $1,000 Plan and I am still enjoying the memory of my visit to a beautiful garden or two yesterday.

When you have a goal you are working towards, there can be times when there are ups as well as downs. Keep going. Keep believing in yourself. Keep being the best you, that you can be. Your goal will be reached, as you keep your hand steady on the plough, and perseverance as your guiding mindset. Keep going.

The $1,000 Plan: Day Twenty-One

It is Day Twenty-One of The $1,000 Plan and today I chose to seek soul food. The monotony of taking over yet another extra workload at home had really started to weigh heavily on me yesterday. So today I knew I had to consciously seek to bring some lightness and brightness along my life's path by personally having some much needed time away from the house & my household commitments.

Early in the afternoon I drove to Hamilton with my daughter and we went and spent several hours at the Hamilton Gardens. I have wanted to visit these gardens for more years than I can tell, and so I chose to make it finally happen for myself today.

There is nothing quite like getting some soul food to put a sense of balance back into life. My husband once said he would be happy to live in a retirement village and simply have a laptop at his disposal. That has however never been my idea of a good time or something that fulfills my soul looking into the future.

While at art school, I specialised in photography, and sadly over the years there has been less & less time to engage with my love of photography and art. Going to the Hamilton Gardens today reminded me about how much I value having visual beauty around me, particularly natural beauty.

I get so much enjoyment from being able to compose a photograph and capture in a moment of time, the beauty that light and a good composition can make, when out with my camera amongst nature.

A beautiful lush collection of flowers, the tangle of roots growing up along a mason wall, the changing patina of a metal garden sculpture..... these are all things that can cause my soul to feel feed and refreshed, if & when they bring my photographer's eye joyful pleasure.

Being surrounded by the diverse flora and fauna at the Hamilton Gardens and being able to take my time to capture various compositions via my camera lifted my spirits today and made me feel somewhat rejuvenated again.

I need colour and variation in my life. When things just coast along, day after day, in repetitive and monotonous patterns of daily life, I find it brain numbing and quite soul destroying.

I have no desire to simply work harder & longer to pay bills and never have pockets of fun and adventure along the way through life. While others may find it makes life blissful to just sit back in a chair each evening watching a Netflix video, that is not the life I actually find healthy for myself.

I need to spend some time working out how I can obtain better balance for myself going forward. Today at the Hamilton Gardens reminded me of how much I need to have time-out and time away, to see beauty in nature and literally find joy in a diverse range of places.

The $1,000 Plan needs to not just be about saving money, but also determining what does in fact make life all the more richer & better. I need to weave this all in, to create the tapestry of life I need, for a sense of wholeness and well-being, and to experience a life that is truly rich & truly abundantly wealthy.