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Free budget worksheet

If you need some help budgeting your money download the budget excel spreadsheet that I use each month. It helps me keep track of how much I spend and lets me plan my money better so I can save more over time. The sheet can be changed to fit your lifestyle and it's all blank and ready to be filled out.

Click here to download the worksheet via Dropbox.

If you don't have a dropbox account, you don't need one to download the file, but it's a great resource for students, businesses and personal use. Check it out here.

30 days of transformation starts tomorrow.

Tomorrow is November which means it's the start of my 30 day transformation. I decided to lay out the basics of my goals and schedule so if anyone wants to follow along they can.

FITNESS

My goal is not to lose 100 lbs in a month or become model skinny. My goal is simply to create a routine of exercise. I think that having a small and achievable goal is better than an outrageous impossible one. I want to workout everyday even if it's only for 10 minutes. That's better than I'm doing right now.

• Eat healthier
• Smaller portions of food
• Healthy snack throughout the day
• WATER!

• Every morning and night:
• 10-50 pushups 
• 30-60 second plank
• 20-100 squats
• 20-100 lunges
• 3 ab blasters
• 100 jumping jacks
• 3x30 second glute bridge
• stretch
• Every other day:
• 20+ minutes of cardio
• Running
• Biking
• Stairs
• Jump Rope
• Swimming

BEAUTY

I have a few goals within beauty. 

1. Whiter and stronger teeth
• Brushing teeth as usual, twice a day
• Flossing every night
• Mouthwash every morning
• Peroxide and Baking Soda cleanse once per week
2. Less acne and clear skin
• Wash face as soon as I get off work.
• Washing face twice per day with non-drying soap
• Using lotion and acne medicine twice per day
• Not switching products as often
3. Wearing less makeup and less foundation
• Use same brand when I do wear makeup
• Lighter coverage (not as heavy makeup)
• Use only mascara when possible, only do makeup for work

SCHOOL

Higher grades, staying ahead of my homework and studying a week in advance for all my tests and quizzes. Planning school once I move and start working on a plan.

• Every night I need to do at least 1 hour of homework. Studying, reading, assignments, writing, podcasts, SOMETHING
• Start studying for a test 1 week before the test. 
• Use notes
• Flashcards
• Practice Tests
• Quizzes
• Write all assignments in my calendar and make an alert on Wunderlist to remember.

FINANCES

I am planning on moving in Spring which means I need to finish paying off my car, save money for a deposit and rent (3 months of rent in case of emergency), money for making the move (gas, boxes, tape) and save money for birthday and christmas gifts. 

• Create a strict budget and stick to it. 
• Buy coffee only once per week
• No more shopping. If I need new clothes I need to sell my old clothes before buying more.
• Save money by using coupons, deals and reward cards
• Use cash only to help keep track of how much I've spent. 
• Save all change in piggy bank and at the end of the month add it up and put into savings for the move.
• Improve my new website so that I can start making a little extra income from the products and services. 
• Sell old, unused stuff on ebay or old clothes at Plato's Closet.
• Finish paying off my car this month, at the latest by December 15th.
• Save tips for gas money and put the rest in savings for the move.
• Declutter room and have a garage sale for the things I no longer use. 

I hope you'll challenge yourself and be apart of the 30 day transformation challenge. You have 30 days of hard work to set a healthy and productive routine for yourself. Create some goals, make a plan and stick to it for 30 days. 

Good luck!

30 days of tansformation

Everyone has something about themselves that they dislike, for most of us the things we dislike about ourselves we can probably change or improve. That is why I want to make the next thirty days a month of change and transformation. Starting November 1st to November 30th I am going to stick to a routine and plan to transform all the things I dislike about myself. I will be posting my plans, progress and story on here and I'll post before and after pictures at the end.

If there is something you want to change about yourself, do it with me. I have things in my life that I want to change so I listed them below. I will be doing all of them but feel free to only do one or two of your own.

• Clean skin. I've always had trouble with acne, part of it is genetics but mostly it's my lack of skin care routine that is making my skin break out and leave scars. 
• Less foundation, better makeup. This will help with clear skin, eye makeup is fun, but no more heavy foundation and conceler. 
• Whiter and straighter teeth. I had braces when I was young but stopped wearing a retainer, as a result my teeth went a little crazy again. I want to work on getting my teeth perfect once and for all. 
• Stronger, healthier body. I gained fat my freshman year of college and it's time to finish dropping the weight. I want to do a ton of strength training to be stronger than ever. 
• Eating healthier and better. Smaller portions, healthy snack through the day and lots of water to help with my weight loss. 
• Stretching everyday and night to reduce stress and help with flexibility. 
• Higher grades and no more procrastinating. I take mostly online classes so I want to get ahead of homework and finish those final projects early. 
• Less clutter and more organized room. Get rid of old junk and sell clothes I no longer wear. I need to get rid of this material stuff I have no use for. 
• Better planning, budgeting and money saving. I want to create a budget and stick to it. Very strictly. I'm going to try to go the month without shopping for unnessisary things and no more Starbucks before work. Tea at home instead (healthier anyway). 
• Improving my business and making some extra money. I have a bunch of business projects I've put on hold that I want to get back too. I need to plan and dedicate time to get it done and make some extra money for moving. 

I may add more as he month goes on but for now that is my offical list. Tomorrow I will post my plans, diet, workout schedule and organizing methods. By November 1st I want a clear plan to stick to so that I don't get off track.

It's time to improve my life and one month of hard work will put me on the right path. I'm really excited and looking forward to the changes. 

Two Jobs and College

I was going to write a blog post about the challenges of working two part-time jobs while being a full-time student, but then I noticed something. I always thought that working through high school and college was fairly common. I worked at a fast food restaurant through high school, did an internship over the summer and now I work two jobs, one at a sandwich place and another as a bookkeeper for my cousin's fulfillment business. It wasn't until this year, however, that I really started to realize I was not the average student. Most, if not all my friends and classmates who are the same age as me do not currently work, and did not work through high school. Keep in mind, I am not counting babysitting or mowing lawns, etc.

I am always shocked to talk to someone my age who has never held a real job. I think it's important to work while you're in school. Even if it's at a small fast food restaurant, you learn customer service, working with others, filling out taxes for work, and other skills that you might not be able to learn otherwise. Our culture is so competitive, when you apply for a job you are being judged on your experience, college, grades, sports. To be a well-rounded person you have to try other things beside school. I can understand not working if you play a college sport, are a member of clubs, and you simply don't have time, but most people are not that busy.

Working through school is important to help you find jobs later on. Get experience while you have the time and enjoy the extra money. Save up for a car, or spend it on food and shopping. The important thing is to get the experience that can help you later while you have the time and opportunities.

I feel like I'm really tired and maybe wearing myself out by working so much, but the other day I wrote all my hours I take to get things done and I realized how much time I actually have. 

Let me break down my week for you.

There are 168 hours in a week.

• 8 hours for sleeping at night (56 hours a week)
• 3 hours to eat (21 hours a week)
• 2 hours to relax, hangout or nap (14 hours a week)
• I also have a bit of a commute to both work and school so I'll give myself 10 hours of driving a week.

So in reality I have around 67 hours a week where I am not sleeping, eating, or relaxing.

• I do school work Sunday-Wednesday. With 12 credit hours of class that's around 15 hours per week
• I work at my cousin's business Thursday-Friday for 12 hours per week
• I work at the sandwich shop for around 15 hours a week
• I workout everyday for 1 hour, that's 7 hours a week

This still leaves me with 18 hours, that's 2.5 hours a day to do extra work, watch TV, walk my dog, do chores around the house, hangout with friends, visit my boyfriend, and of course Sunday football.
When I split my time up like this I realize how often I waste my time, with Facebook, twitter, watching crappy TV shows.

My advice if you ever feel overwhelmed is to sit down and add all your time like I did. Cut out all that junk that wastes your days and you'll feel much more relaxed.