Is it November already? I swear, the days keep flying by! With the exception of a few nights out, we have spent the majority of October immersed in long work hours and a little list of to-dos.
Brian and I kicked off our month with a trip to Vegas. Our friends invited us for a fun Prom Night event – we had a blast! We wish that the rest of the month carried the same energy! While we stretched ourselves thin at work, we managed to knock some things off our to-do list, including: Global Entry Interviews, hit our annual savings goal, and plan our trips for the rest of 2018.
Revisiting October 2018 Goals
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Get to bed early
We honestly tried. In fact, we were doing pretty well until mid-October. Our 9:30PM bedtime became 10:30, which stretched to 11:00 on some nights. Sadly, long work hours pushed our down-time even later, which pushed our bedtime. It also doesn’t help that we wake up before 5:00AM. Oy.
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Hike 2 new trails
Brian and I discovered 2 new trails less than 20 miles from the house! Each trail had connections to paved areas, as well as unpaved sections through the woods and rocky surfaces. We enjoyed nice walks, but would really like to find some local trails that are more challenging.
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Trim down our monthly expenses
Done! We typically dine out 2-3 times per week. In October, we dined out 5 times total! Not only did we save money eating in, we also did not have any travel expenses other than our Vegas trip. Our frugal month allowed for us to hit our annual savings goal mid-October!
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Have an epic Halloween
Did you have an epic Halloween? WE SURE DID! Brian and I love our Halloween tradition of gorging on food and partaking in a scary movie marathon. We prefer to have a night in rather than go out on the town. This Halloween, we made a “Graveyard Taco Dip”, slow-cooked beef stew, and slow-grilled BBQ ribs.
Our finished masterpiece:
Our movie, unfortunately, was not so epic. Brian and I chose Before I Wake. We didn’t have time to watch another, so we finished our evening with a couple episodes of The Haunting of Hill House. Both were done very well, brought to life by the same director, Mike Flanagan. As much as I appreciate the art and talent behind these pieces, I did not find them very scary. I admit, though, it takes a lot for me to consider something truly scary! All in all, we loved our Halloween. Food was amazing, company was the best, and the movies were decent enough!
November 2018 Goals
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Install laminate flooring on our first floor:
Eventually, our house will become a rental property. We are going to take up the carpet on the first floor and install laminate OURSELVES! We are going to try to, at least…Dad will be on stand-by because he is the best.
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Make a decision about health care:
I have been on my own health care plan since I was 22. My job does not provide health care, though Brian’s does. Last month, I received a notice that my plan was being canceled and that I would be moved to a comparable plan that costs nearly 3 times more per month than I pay now. This November, I have to decide if I am going to hop onto Brian’s plan or see if I could find an alternative plan for myself. I’m really interested in a Health Savings Account (HSA), as it offers a triple tax advantage! The last time I looked into an individual HSA plan, the premium was $360 per month. I’ll have to do some research and make a decision.
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Complete our Christmas shopping:
We usually start our Christmas shopping in August, but we slacked off this year. Brian and I tend to be fairly budget-conscious when it comes to gifts, so we should have no problem checking this one off the list!
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Get back on the reading train:
October did not see very much reading. It’s time to get back to it!
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Review house and car insurance:
It’s important to review your insurance every couple of years or so. Changing your policy or comparing your policy to others can help save you money! This month, we will review our house and car insurance policies to see if we can save a little more money.
What do you have going on in November?
