New Venture for 2015..

With all my talk about making and saving money in 2015, I knew I'd need to do something other than work my job to make this happen.. 

This Christmas, I made some 18" doll clothes for a co-worker.. Posted them on FB, and got a couple people asking me how much they cost and if they could get some.. 

This gave me an idea.. I'll sell doll clothes on Etsy!! After looking on Etsy, I noticed a lot of options but I think I could do well with this.. Of course, I plan to make a lot of inventory first, but will also plan to do custom orders (eventually)..

I realize I'm just starting out with making these, and I don't have the special machines that will make these look 'professional' but I have no doubt I will love making these AND make a little money.. Plus, it'll help me get rid of my fabric stash (which has gotten a little out of control.. Hehe).. 

So, 2015 will be the start of Sew Special by Sarah.. Wish me luck!!

My Wish To You..

... Is for the end of 2014 to be filled with fun, laughter and lots of love..

And for 2015 to be all you wish it to be.. 

I hope you have a very fabulous holiday (whichever you may celebrate) and let's make 2015 better than 2014.. 

December is Almost Gone..

Where did the month go??

Hell, where did 2014 go?!?!

This month has been pretty good to me.. I've seen a lot of friends, had a lot of fun, and ate a lot of good foods..

Saw my ex roomie, and did a fun event called #selfiewithsanta.. I never thought I'd get to the point where I could be in big crowds of talking strangers again.. My anxiety used to be that bad.. But it was a lot of fun.. Except when we had to bike 12 blocks on the Thirsty Pedaler to get to Santa.. THAT was a workout.. Lmao, how drunk people do that, I'll never know..

Saw one of my besties and went to a flea market.. Sadly, she has UC so our trip was cut short.. But we are making plans for Tuesday to go see the Lights Under Louisville.. Yay!!

Had our family Christmas get together today.. I sadly woke up late (and had to work tonight) so I only stayed a little over an hour, but it was fun and good food was eaten.. Yum yum yum..

I will be posting some of my Pinterest projects after Christmas.. I'm currently working on two Frozen pajama sets for 18" dolls.. Which is part of my possible project I'm thinking about.. :)

Hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!!

Starting early..

So, my 2015 goals are generally focused on money.. This will be the year I get my ass in gear and pay off bills (including my car).. 

BUT, it's not just about paying off bills.. It's also about saving money for now (I'd love to have my $1,000 'emergency fund' finished by the end of 2015), AND saving for retirement.. 

Last year, on my 30th birthday, I started putting in $15/paycheck into a 403b account.. My job, thankfully, will match 1/2 of your contribution (up to 4% of your salary).. I found this last part out (the 4% part) just recently, so I decided to up my contribution to 2% of my paycheck.. And will continue to up it each year by 1% more.. In most cases, my contribution should be around $25-30/paycheck.. 

If you have the option, at your job, to contribute to some kind of retirement plan, please take advantage of it.. I'm barely making ends meet some paychecks, but I make sure to keep that going in.. Because while it may be hard now, I can work more.. If I end up 80 and broke, I can't get work too easily..

Also, this paycheck is when my auto deposit starts in my savings account.. It's at a bank that I can't physically touch, and has a decent interest rate (.75% APY).. Plus, some of the money I make on the side too..

This paycheck was interesting, as it has all my changes on it, PLUS I had 24 hours of overtime on it.. So, this made my 2% contribution to my 403(b) $59.. Lmao.. Oops, forgot about that part.. Eh, can't hurt me.. 

Got Christmas paid for, and got some ideas to bring in extra income (will talk about that once I get it rolling, since I'm the queen of false starts).. Now, onto working a bunch and starting off 2015 on the right foot (my first paycheck of the new year falls on the 1st)..

Payday Thursday..

So I don't know why I said I was going to start Payday Thursday's this week, as any bill that isn't going to get something turned off (electric, rent, car insurance, etc) isn't getting paid so I can finish Christmas.. 

I know, bad reason.. But I know I will be making enough in the month of January to cover it all and get back on track.. And my plan is that this won't happen next year..

Saving money, and even spending money, on a single salary is horribly hard.. Especially when I find myself spending money to have some fun, which is usually something like a movie.. While I don't usually buy myself clothes (I still hate shopping for myself, even after losing 106 lbs), I have no problem buying stuff for my house, or other people.. 

So this month is gonna be about keeping tabs on how much I spend (besides Christmas gifts) on a 'normal' month.. I will keep all receipts, and towards the end of the month, I will add up what I spent, and where, and use it for my budget for January..

I already have a preliminary budget done, but I'm intrigued to see if I'm accurate.. Probably not.. Lol

Short and Sweet..

Today is payday..

I'm planning on sticking with "Payday Thursday's" and posting about money on that day every week..

Only 21 days til Christmas!! Holy crap!! 

Gonna go soak my tired body in a bath and then go to bed.. Good night, blogosphere..