How I Failed at No-Spend January

These euros were not spent in January! Partly because they aren't accepted in America and that's where I was all January long.  But we'll pretend that they weren't spent because of my iron strong will. 

Not spending money for an entire month is hard.

In an attempt to curb spending and save some dollas, I officially declared January a no-spend month by waking up on January 2nd and thinking that it's just a month and it's no big deal and I really do need to save money for college and then having to promptly stop myself from buying a song on iTunes.

With that knowledge in mind, it'll be no surprise to you that I failed at not spending in January.  Of course I don't have to purchase things like groceries, pay a mortgage, or get a car repaired yet, but I often grab some food with friends, impulsively buy a new skirt every now and then and frequent the iTunes store on a weekly basis.

I figured that I could easily put all of that off for just four short, little weeks.  Wrong.

what I wanted to spend: $0
what I spent: (try not to be too horrified with me. please.) $2.72

I'm going to break it down:
$2.02 - pictures for my wall quote that I actually didn't end up using.
$0.50 - string cheese at lunch when I thought I was going to die from starvation, but I probably would have made it anyway.  And it was warm.  Gross.
$0.20 - a library fine. My account said I was a delinquent and I didn't want the nice old librarian to think I was a bad person so I took care of that baby.  And I didn't want to go to jail.

I really broke the bank, I know.

Actually, all sarcasm asides, I'm pretty proud of how well No-Spend January went down.  It was a lot harder than I had imagined it to be when I dreamed it up while in that whole waking-up-delusional stage that no important decisions should ever be made in.

I noticed that not spending money required a lot more pre-thought and planning than I usually had to put into things. For example, I met with a few friends for a Bible study at Panera and instead of indulging in my usual U PICK 2 and chai tea latte, I packed a sandwich from home and pretended that it was a panini. I didn't fool anyone, but my wallet was happy!

Not spending also meant that I had to be consistent and stick to a plan even when that bargain rack Target skirt was definitely designed with me in mind.

Now that it's "Spend-All-You-Have-February," I'm off to make up for the 31 days that I just spent conserving.  If you need me, I'll be in the Target dressing room!

Have you ever tried to go a month without spending?

Happy Super Bowl Sunday!

// Allison

Instagram Tells All || 2014

Instagram was king in 2014. Well, at least in my life it was. Facebook became an afterthought and Twitter and I have never really clicked. I'm not funny enough for Vine, nor do I care to be sucked into the Tumblr world, even though I know some of the shenanigans there can get pretty hilarious.  I do love Pinterest and would not consider the hours and hours that I have spent scrolling through the humor section to be wasted, but Instagram just has that something special.

According to my Instagram, in 2014, I . . .

january

 . . . went to the Winter Classic! Several inches of snow, a frozen foot or two, and an unfortunate shootout loss later, I started out 2014 on one of my favorite notes of the year!

. . . made Texas shaped cookies with my cousin from Texas! I found the cookie cutter at my church's rummage sale and knew that it would be perfect for her visit. 

february

 . . . took the ACT for the first time. 2014 also came with two more of these bundles of joy but I am happy to say that I never have to pick up one of those study books again.

. . . roadtripped to Grand Rapids, MI with my family for a weekend. We watched the Grand Rapids Griffins lose in an embarrassing fashion. 2014 just must not have been our hockey year. 

march

 . . . ate a paczki for the first time and quickly realized that it is nothing more than a hyped up doughnut.  . . and that I prefer doughnuts.

. . . lost in a school dodgeball tournament.  I'm going to go ahead and be that person that says that winning doesn't matter because it was all about the experience.  Notice that only the losers ever say that. 

april 

 . . . won a contest! I was having a bad day when I got the email from Keds that I had won a free pair of shoes. I nearly cried because I was so excited. Eight months later, I'm still telling people about how I got them for free.  I should probably archive that in the "old news that nobody cares about" file now though.

. . . saw a gorgeous sunrise in my backyard and was once again reminded of the beauty of my Creator. 

may

 . . . spent what seemed like an entire year with these flashcards that quickly became my most constant companion. Thanks to that though, I earned a college-credit score on the A.P. U.S. History test! I don't look back on this as the finest moment of 2014, however.

. . . had my senior pictures taken by an extremely talented friend on Lake Michigan.  I'm still not budging on my stance that Michigan is the most beautiful state. 

 june

 . . . put holes in my earlobes for the second time after round #1 didn't go so smoothly. I'm happy to report that my ears are still handling it well!

Also, I got a lot of freckles.

. . . road tripped with my family again! But this time, we headed to Chicago and walked more miles in three days then I ever thought possible. 

july

 . . . spent a little more than a week seeing the finest that Italy has to offer. And let me just say, I was impressed. From Venice, to Florence, to Rome, to Naples, and all the little cities in between, I was not at all disappointed by my first taste of overseas travel.

. . . repeated the overseas adventures in Greece! Another week found me cruising in Grecian isles, chowing down on the most delicious Greek food that I had ever laid taste buds on, and accidentally flushing the toilet paper down the toilet each and every time. 

"Dang it! I forgot again!" was common in my vocabulary. 

august

. . . left home once again to spend two amazing weeks at camp in Northern Michigan.  Even though Michigan is so gorgeous through and through, Up North wins hands-down. Camp is always one of my favorite parts of the summer and I am always amazed by the ways that I see God working in that place.

. . . was super original and followed every one and their brother and their neighbor and their niece and raised awareness for ALS by subjecting myself to not only one, but thanks to scheming little sister antics, two buckets of ice cold water. 

september 

 . . . screamed myself hoarse in the student section for the very last time at a high school homecoming game.  It must have worked because we walked away with not only a homecoming victory, but with a big rivalry win and a huge knight trophy affectionately dubbed Rusty.

. . . tortured myself daily ran my very last cross country season.  Even though there was many a time that I hated every single second that I spent moving at a pace faster than a stroll, I really do miss this craziness. 

october

 . . . got some really exciting news back! After anxiously checking my application status nearly every day for two months, I was notified that I had been accepted to Michigan State!

Even though I now doubt that I will become a MSU Spartan, at the time it was the best news in the world.

. . . welcomed hockey season back. Opening day could not come fast enough. Go Wings! 

november

 . . . discovered my inner chef and whipped up some delicious butternut squash soup with apples and onions. It smelled so amazing and I only melted one blender in the process! Winning!

. . . explored the million volumes of books housed in Detroit's John K. King Bookstore. Four whole warehouse floors are lined with musty and dark aisles and aisles and aisles filled to the brim with books of every size, age, and subject. It's definitely one of the hidden jewels of Detroit. 

december

 . . . dropped my jaw at the beauty of this sunset. What's even cooler is that I took this picture through the window of a moving car and it still amazes me every time I see it.

. . . was surprised with a trip to Boston by my parents! I've been wanting to visit for a long time and my mom and dad made it happen while the Red Wings were in Beantown.  One embarrassing loss later made me glad that this city holds so much charm and history that the trip wasn't wasted. I would absolutely love to go back and eat more Boston Cream Pie see everything that we didn't get to.

2014 and I had our ups and downs, some bigger than others, but all-in-all, I had the most amazing year of my life. I traveled more and farther than I ever have before. I grew as a person.  I found some new interests and passions.  I met incredible people. I read good books.  I was inspired.  I learned. 

2015 has been a year that has been attached to my identity ever since I was born. Class of 2015.  I cannot wait to see what God has in store for me this year and how I can use all that happened in '14 to make '15 great. 

Now I better get started Instagramming 2015! 

Allison out. 

May 2014 Recap

I always like to look back at my pictures that I took each month and remember all the things I filled my days with.  Since the days seem to fly by so fast, I inevitably end up thinking "that was only a month ago??" somewhere along the line.

The lineup for May includes . . . (drumroll please!)

PROM!

Piñata fun in Spanish class.

My first Tigers game of the season where the most exciting part of the 0-1 loss was someone accidentally pulling the fire alarm and freaking everyone out.

Experiencing the deliciousness of macarons for the first time at Mother's Day brunch. 

Taking artsy pictures and loving the results. 

Having the lit nerd in me freak out over all the parallels between Westside Story and Romeo and Juliet.

Getting my senior pictures taken on the gorgeous shores of Lake Michigan by an extremely talented friend. 

Andddd . . . finally saying goodbye to the AP US History notecards that were my constant companion while leading up the exam. Can't say that I miss them though. 

I can't wait for all the adventures that June brings!

What did you do this May?

Love, 

Allison