No Spend November // Free Budgeting Filofax Inserts

You know what I love...unexpected bills.  You know what's even better?  Two unexpected bills two months in a row.  Well the second bill wasn't really unexpected I knew it was going to come up sometime I just wasn't paying attention.  So now, in these most expensive months before the holidays, I need to kick my butt into gear!

Sooooooo......the other night I came up with some budgeting printables I'm going to stick into my A5 Raspberry Saffiano to keep me on track.  I've had the Bills tracker for a while now because I was constantly thinking 'Did I pay this? Did we mail that out?' but I need to start thinking about a real budget.  Instead of just the willy-nilly I'll pay it when I get it mentality.  I've always had a pretty good idea of where my money went....I knew I'd spent too much at Target but it really didn't cut into anything else.  I knew that I had the money and I knew where it was going.  I wasn't ever too loose with my money, but I did spend it where I really didn't need to.  I had a pretty decent savings until I had to buy a new car ..... and with that comes a whole new budget game.

When it comes to numbers and rations, I'm a planner.  I like to calculate out this and add up that just to make sure I'm on track with what I need to be.  I can't tell you how many times I find little papers lying around with numbers, addition & subtraction, notations, and lines lying around.  They are especially prevalent in little tiny note books I have.

Today I want to share with you three desktop sized (8.5 x 5.5 inch) inserts that fit perfectly in an A5 filofax.  I could be all technical and do it at proper A5 size......but that is a waste of paper especially since its only a few centimeters off.  So these are desktop sized, half page, inserts that you can print at home.  

Here's the breakdown:

No Spend Tracker - Because I reeeaaaallllyyy want to spend as little as possible this month, I'm doing a no spend.  That means I will not buy clothes, make up, stationery, Project Life supplies, shoes, purses, yarn, etc for the whole month.  I reeeeaaalllllyyy would like to carry this into December and I hope I can!  So that's what the No Spend Tracker is.  I'm going to mark everyday that I don't spend and we'll see what happens!

Monthly Budget - This is like the name suggests, my monthly budget.  I had a vague budget before but now it's going to really be broken down.  There is a section for the income, your starting balance budget, list of bills with due dates, name, amount, and a section for if it's been paid, an ending balance, and a spot to keep track of your savings.  Phew...thats a full sheet of paper!  There are two files in this one a right margin and a left margin so you can print back to back if you wish.

Bill Tracker - This is pretty simple, it is an at a glance look to make sure you've actually paid what you think you've paid.  For me it's good because I can see not only when bills are paid but which bills are every six months, which bills are quarterly, etc.  Like our trash bill is every 3 months and my car insurance is every 6 months.  Things like that are good to have at a glance.  You can see what's coming up due or if you've forgotten anything that month!

I hope these printables are helpful for you all I really had a fun time breaking it all down.  Printing instructions as well as terms of use are included in the .zip download from Google Drive, download the files here. 

Have fun and budget them dollars!

xoxo, Moe

Revisiting October 2014 Four Simple Goals

October is over....my favorite month just flew by.  I got about zero of these goals done.  I just wasn't feeling it this month I guess.  Sometimes I find myself really wanting to do something but I have zero motivation to do it.  Like, I'd really like to open up my etsy shop again and work on some stuff in my Zazzle store but I am just not feeling it.  But anyway, lets just look at the goals, shall we:

Get the Blog Sidebar & About page organized - Well, I did it.  I finally took out the post grad part of my about me.  Can you still claim that 3 years after graduation and when you have a full time job?  I mean I still feel like I'm parading around in my adult suit but I guess moving into your late twenties means you can't really consider yourself fresh out of college.  I need to find a new way to identify myself!

Clean out the garage (again) - didn't really happen.  However we pulled all the carpet up from the upstairs in getting ready to do the remodel, doesn't that count? No, it doesn't.

Make something new - I made a few new things this month actually.  I got a loom for loom knitting and I made a hat.  I'm not quite sure that I like loom knitting.  I thought it would have been something easy to do but I don't quite like the end result.  It's definitely easy but I think that crocheting is easier.  I also made a DIY soft box that I might share in a Make it Monday later on.

Go to the Pumpkin Patch - We didn't do this but we did get our pumpkin carving on.  I got some big ol pumpkins from a local market down from my work.  So we just sat in the floor and carved away.

It always feels good to look back on my goals even if they didn't really get accomplished the way they were intended.  This Four Simple Goal project keeps me accountable.  Here's to a successful November!

xoxo, Moe

Revlon Moisture Stain vs. Wet n Wild Vicious Varnish Lip Stain

Today I wanted to share something interesting I found while playing in my crazy make up collection - the new Revlon ColorStay Moisture Stains are quite comparable to a cheaper drugstore product - the Wet n Wild Fergie Collection Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stains. (Long name but longer  lasting than the Moisture Stains!)  We're doing some remodeling on the house which involves the upstairs, which in turn involves the bedroom, where my vanity is.  So I had to move all my make up to the bathroom and in doing so I played around a bit.  Honestly, I can't clean up my collection with out playing around and swatching all the things I have!

Currently I have quite a few of the Vicious Varnish stains but only two of the Moisture Stains.  The Wet n Wild stains are about $3.99 (.17 oz) & the Moisture Stains are around $9.99 (.27 oz).

Each of these has the same sort of sticky, glossy texture - so the formula is quite similar.  Now, that stickiness doesn't mean they are annoying, at least to me.  Personally I think each of these dry down or set and leave a long lasting, gloss finish that is comfortable to wear on the lips.  When it comes to application the WnW stains are a bit thicker and apply more evenly.  The Revlon stains seem to be thin and can skip over your lips when you're applying it.  The consistency is a bit thin, and you do have to go over the same bit a few times to build up the color.  But be sure not to go over the same place too much as you'll pick up the color as the formula starts to set.  Another difference to note is that none of the WnW colors have shimmer or glitter in them, but in the example above Revlon's London Posh (the lighter peach shade all the way on the left) does have shimmer.

Each have a doe foot style wand.  The Revlon wand is similar to the Maybelline Color Elixirs (which I don't own but I don't think the formula of those are like these stains at all) in that it is a tear drop shape.  The WnW wand is more of a skinny, paddle shape and is less stiff than the Revlon wand.  Each foot has a bunch of little fuzzies on it and I think that the fuzzies work better with the thickness of the WnW version but it seems that since the Revlon consistency is really thin, the fuzzies sort of pick up the product as you move across the lip.

The lasting power for each is pretty much the same.  Each has a unique texture - and by that I mean each feels the same but they don't feel like any other lip color/product I've ever used - and it is the texture that lends itself to the long lasting nature of these stains.  If you pick up a lighter color of each of these products it's not going to stain your lips as much as the darker colors.  For example the deeper shades pictured above - WnW Throwing Shade & Revlon India Intrigue - will stain better than the lighter shades - WnW Legendary Face & Revlon London Posh.  Additionally, each do live up to their names - The Vicious Varnish is very glossy and the Revlon Moisture Stain is moisturizing.  Both come of very glossy which does last and both lock in moisture because of the texture of the product.

Overall, I would recommend you pick up the Wet n Wild Vicious Varnish High Shine Lip Stains over the Revlon Moisture Stains.  I think they are very comparable, but in price and performance the Wet n Wild comes in slightly better!  With coupons that are often offered at the drugstore and sales that run every now and then you're getting a better deal with the Wet n Wild option.

Have you tried either of these?  Which do you prefer?

xoxo, Moe