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Emilie Burke

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Quarter 2 2017 Spending Ban: Books, Cosmetics, Clothes, and "Fitness" (& an update on Q2)

// Finances

Reading Time: 7 minutes

When you’re a spender, restricting yourself is hard. I know people who are not spenders and I promise you that I am not one of them. Man, spending is so easy to me. That’s why it can be so hard for me to be “financially responsible.” Being irresponsible, spending willy nilly, not putting more than half of my paycheck (which I did this month!) toward debt – these things are way easier than saying no to myself.

Part of being better at controlling my money includes recognizes the behaviors that I have around money so that I can address them. I have always bought more books that I could consume. They’ve been a lifetime weakness of mine- as if buying the book for the thing gave me the knowledge that I needed. I bought tons of books in college, but through those four years I don’t think I’d read 10 books cumulatively.

It was from this knowledge that I started my first categorical spending ban in June 2016, heading into Quarter 3 of 2016. I had tried doing a month-long spending ban back in January of that year and failed miserably, leaving myself pretty frustrated with myself. Six months later, I decided to just restrict two categories of my spending but for three months. That first quarterly spending ban was the first time in my adult life that I had gone three months without buying a book. It also was the beginning of me rebuilding the habit of reading because I told myself I could buy books again when I finished reading what I had. I think that in that moment I must not have really understood just how many books I owned (and still own).

Being really pleased with the positive effects of my first spending ban- reduced spending and more intentionality in my reading- I decided to extend it into a Quarter 4 Categorical Spending Ban. I even noticed that even though I was no longer spending on  books, I was finding abundance in my books. In fact, as I shared then, “Even though I didn’t spend on books this quarter, I still accumulated more books than I read.” Extending my ban into Q4 was a no brainer really.

Heading into the New Year, I was in a slightly different situation. I had just spent six months without buying any cosmetics at all! That included moisturizer and mascara! There were so many things that I used and didn’t replace and, more importantly, didn’t need or want to replace. I did log and share my progress on in Instagram with #burkedoesempty. It’s still insane to me that I just had all of those things to empty and not even miss. There were some things, though, that I did miss. For example, I ran out of liquid eyeliner and moisturizer. I also ran out of dry shampoo. I also splurged on two books, one of which I read right away and the other is right at the top of my list.

At the end of the year, I found myself splurging on clothes. Mid-November, I accepted a new job that I started early December. This new job required a lot more travel than my previous job’s travel. Working from home regularly, I wear pretty casual clothes. Having to dress up for work in an office is not something I had the wardrobe for (or so I told myself), so I found myself buy all the “cute” clothes I liked on impulse. I knew that I needed to bring that under control, so I decided to add the category of clothes to my spending ban, bringing the categories included to books, cosmetics, and clothes.

There were two things I bought this quarter that violated my spending ban. The first was [easyazon_link identifier=”B002NU6MMA” locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]a pair of Sperry’s like these[/easyazon_link]. Bo, my wonderful pup who has for the most part gotten out of his destructive phase, destroyed by beloved Sperry’s that had at least another year in them. I decided to replace them for three reasons: 1. Bo has eaten basically all of my other shoes, 2. Even though I could probably get away with wearing flip flops most of the time, I knew I couldn’t get away with it when traveling for work, 3. These Sperry’s are a staple in my go-to wardrobe. They make me feel comfortable and I really like them. Given these, I scowered the web for the best price. I wear a size 7 in women’s shoes, but a size 5 in girl’s shoes. The size 5 girl’s Sperry’s were $25 cheaper than the Women’s version of the same shoes in basically the same size! I bought the better deal, of course.

The second item I bought this quarter that violated my spending ban was [easyazon_link identifier=”B000141POA” locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]Paul Mitchell Clarifying Shampoo[/easyazon_link]. I’m not very good about taking care of my hair and now that I work out 4-6 days per week my hair has been spending a lot of time in a pony tail. A couple of weeks ago I went for my first hair cut in probably 6 months at the beauty school in Fayetteville. I always get my haircuts at beauty schools because my hair is relatively easy to cut (I just get it cut in a V) and it’s much less expensive. On the other hand, it does take muuuuch longer, so be prepared for those tradeoffs. After getting a wonderful deep conditioner treatment plus a haircut, the hair stylist and her teacher suggested I get the clarifying shampoo and explained to me how to use it to help keep my scalp and hair much healthier than it has been. For the hair cut, the deep conditioning treatment, and the shampoo, I still paid less than $25. I’m okay with it, and I have been using the shampoo once per week!

I also found myself working harder to purge some items from my collection. When my best friend Blair(Hi Blair!) came to visit, I sent her home with a pallet of eye shadows and mascara that were still closed and sealed in their packaging. Why do I own things that I’ve never used?! I just got a package this week with chapsticks and a soap and some other things in it that I knew I wasn’t going to use, so I passed them off to my dear friend Angie (Hi Angie!).

Just think about this: I’m now 9 months into not buying books and not buying makeup. With the exception of one tube of moisturizer, liquid eyeliner, dry shampoo, and clarifying shampoo, I haven’t needed to replace anything in my collection. What does that say about my accumulation of stuff?

Exactly.

 

For the third consecutive quarter, I am really happy with the results of my quarterly spending ban, so of course, it’s something I want to again. I am going to ban books again, as I still have plenty on the shelves to read. Even though I’ve read pretty aggressively since we last moved- and have done what I would consider to be an impressive job of moving the books off my shelves when I’ve finished them (there are only two that didn’t move on to new homes)- I’m still bummed that there are SO many books on my shelves that are unread. I don’t need any new books, but I will give myself permission to buy one this quarter- and only one. I haven’t read [easyazon_link identifier=”1937077977″ locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]Rachel Cruze’s most recent book[/easyazon_link] and I know I’m going to really want to read Lara Casey’s new book, [easyazon_link identifier=”0143130404″ locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]Erin Lowry’s new book[/easyazon_link], and [easyazon_link identifier=”1942121032″ locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]Christy Wright’s new book[/easyazon_link]. These are all books I have had on my mind for a while, so I’m giving myself permission to buy only one.

I’m going to also push forward on not spending on cosmetics. More than just that, I’m going to work harder to purge the things I own. Too many things were moved this weekend that have not been touched in the last year. I’m don’t want to be wasteful, but I do want to let my good move on and serve someone who might be served positively by them.

I’m expanding the clothes ban to this quarter again. I lived out of this wardrobe when I moved down here last May. I will need it to last again this summer. There’s nothing wrong with it and I hope that the move will force me to go through what I have and basically build new life into my clothes again.

I’m also adding one more category: Fitness.

You see, I’ve always found it really easy to justify spending on fitness because, well, it’s fitness. I mean, it’s even good for me. The problem is that that can lead to overspending. This is such an umbrella category, so let’s get more specific here on what is and isn’t okay.

  1. Fitness Clothes- This is also covered under the clothes spending ban, but just restating for good measure.
  2. Gear- No sneakers, WODies, hand grips, foam rollers, or any of those other nice-to-haves that I’ve been eyeing for a while and I’ve been really tempted to spend on.
  3. Supplements- I’ve got Whey, Casein, BCAAs, and pre, the latter of two I never use. I do not need any more supplements. No magic powder is going to step up my game, unless I do.
  4. Coaching- Right now, my money needs to be focused on other things, so no additional training or coaching- macro or fitness. I’ve really wanted macro coaching but I just shouldn’t be spending money on it right now.

That’s a lot of no’s. What is not covered in this? Where can I still spend?

  1. Existing Gym Membership- I’ve got my existing membership at Crossfit Raeford that I am still paying for.
  2. Food- Protein bars (I’ve really been digging [easyazon_link identifier=”B01N0IO5Y8″ locale=”US” tag=”burkedoes-20″]these Cake Bites[/easyazon_link]) lately.
  3. Yoga- Every once in a while, I like hitting a yoga class with one of my good friends. It’s fun because I can get in a good stretch and I get to get out and catch up with a good friend, like I did last week.

    A post shared by Emilie Lima Burke (@emilielimaburke) on Apr 5, 2017 at 6:25pm PDT

  4. ROMWOD- I really need to working on my flexibility. I’ve noticed that as I’ve started getting stronger, I’ve started to lose some flexibility. I’ve spoken to a couple of people who have all confirmed that this is normal and happens. I’m hoping to nip this in the bod by upping my flexibility. If– big if here– I successfully complete my Wallball challenge in the month of April, then I can give ROMWOD a try. I need to use it at least 20 minutes per week for it to be something I can commit to.

At the core of this all, I’m looking to slowly and surely change my spending habits, so that I am more conscientious and intentional in my spending. My hope is to slowly continue to change my habits to better help me hit my financial goals. Can you see all the different steps in this path? This is why financial responsibility is not an overnight thing; instead, it’s a lifestyle built of a pattern of habits that need to be in place to allow you and me to hit our financial goals.

Have you ever had success with any sort of spending ban? Let me know how it went in the comments!

Emilie

Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.

March 2017 Debt Repayment

// Debt Repayment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to March’s debt repayment update where I show you the progress I made on paying off my debt over the last month.

If you’re new to Burke Does, you may be wondering why I would want to share these very real and personal numbers on the blog. You can simply skip to the next section if you’re not new here.

This all started soon after college when I tried to build my first budget and had no idea how to do that. While it too me a while, I did successfully start budget and get a grasp on my debt. In January 2016, I shared my financial status. At the end of the year, I shared my Financial Year In Review. I try to be as transparent as possible in my successes and my failures. We’re just real here, no fluff or BS here.

[table caption=”March 2017″ colalign=”center”]
, February, March, Change, Percent Change
Loans,,,,
Car Loan (USAA), 15626.76, 15368.64, 258.12, 1.65%
ECSI, 8002.89, 7943.23, 59.66,0.75%
Upstart, 3529.06, 3359.43, 169.63,4.81%
Credit Cards,,,,
Southwest (Chase), 1668.89, 1218.35, 450.54,27.01%
Discover, 2090.50, 2048.50, 42, 2.0%
Chase Sapphire Reserve, 0, 0, –, —
Combined Debt, 30918.10, 29938.15, 979.95, 3.17%
[/table]

 

I’ve really been itching for a big month. In the beginning of the year, there were the holidays, then we had visitors for a couple of weeks in a row, then we closed on the house, and I’ve felt like I’ve just been hemorrhaging money. I’ve been itching for a good month- one that really makes me feel good about making progress on my debt snowball. I shared last month that I felt like I was starting to gain traction again and this month definitely has me feeling that way!

That Amazon CC AND my Chase Sapphire card have both had 0 balances for three and two months, respectively. That means that I will drop both of them off my report next month. This is BIG. I was able to use the Chase Sapphire card without overspending to still get the 100,000 points promotional bonus they were offering (thanks to work expenses). I may turn my Chase Sapphire card into a work-only card. It can be confusing at times to cashflow work expenses and make sure I don’t screw up the numbers for my own accounting. I would really prefer to use my Southwest card for this, but I only use it to buy Southwest flights while I’m working to pay it off. (For the record, I immediately pay for the flights when I do that.

April is shaping up to be a pretty quiet month. There will be no traveling to Nashville for work this month so no expense reports to worry about cashflowing. March was a three paycheck month (I get paid every other week, instead of twice per month as I did at my last job) and while I promised half of that to the house, the other half should help get rid of that Southwest card and get me start gaining traction on my Discover card. How great would it be if I were credit card debt free before my 24th birthday in June? I can only imagine the relief.

Anyone else have March as a three paycheck month? Are you excited about what you’re going to be able to do with it?

 

2017 Financial Goals

  1. Build emergency savings fund to 4K.
  2. Be financially prepared for Ricardo’s Wedding ($2000 by August) and FinCon ($1500 by October).
  3. Pay off 20K of debt [Current running total 2377]

Current Debt-Free Date: November 2018.

Emilie

Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.

February 2017 Debt Repayment

// Debt Repayment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Welcome to February’s debt repayment update where I show you the progress I made on paying off my debt over the last month.

If you’re new to Burke Does, you may be wondering why I would want to share these very real and personal numbers on the blog. You can simply skip to the next section if you’re not new here.

This all started soon after college when I tried to build my first budget and had no idea how to do that. While it too me a while, I did successfully start budget and get a grasp on my debt. In January 2016, I shared my financial status. At the end of the year, I shared my Financial Year In Review. I try to be as transparent as possible in my successes and my failures. We’re just real here, no fluff or BS here.

[table caption=”February 2017″ colalign=”center”]
, January, February, Change, Percent Change
Loans,,,,
Car Loan (USAA), 15880.74, 15626.76, 253.98, 1.60%
ECSI, 8062.30, 8002.89, 59.44,0.74%
Upstart, 3695.49,3529.06,166.43,4.50%
Credit Cards,,,,
Southwest (Chase), 2013.38, 1668.89, 344.49,17.11%
Amazon (Chase),0, 0,–, —
Discover, 2182, 2090.50, 91.50,4.19%
Chase Sapphire Reserve, 481.78, 0, 481.78, 100%
Combined Debt, 32315.69, 30918.10, 1397.59,4.32%,
[/table]

I guess this was an okay month.

At the end of last month, I was disappointed to say that I had gone up in my total debt. This was in large part due to the fact that I was sitting on a sizable work reimbursement that I was waiting for. I got that reimbursement and immediately chucked it at my debt. There’s something about wanting to pay off debt aggressively and not being able to that is frustrating AF, if we’re going to be totally honest here.

This was the second month in a row with a nil on my Amazon CC. That means that I will drop this card off my report going into March. I do have cards, like my Delta Skymiles AmEx that I do not use but have for strategic reasons. This Amazon card with my a charge and pay immediately card moving forward- like a debit card. My new day-to-day use card will be my Chase Sapphire Reserve card. The rewards are pretty great and it’s a nice card to carry around with me.

I’m focusing all my energy on that Southwest card now that has been with me since I first started paying off my debt! I think I can have that thing crushed in March-April-May, so that the end of the May it should have zero balance. Then I can move on to that Discover card next.. but one goal at a time.

I filed my taxes and already got my refund back! Thanks Sonia! Sonia is a local mil-spouse who I met through the local chapter of the Milspo Project. She’s been extremely helpful. I got a huge chunk of money back and while it was tempting to throw it all to pay off my Southwest card and most of my Discover card (literally, I could pay that 3K off right now and be credit card debt free right now), I know that I’m going to need liquid money when we close on the house next week, so I’d rather not put myself in a pickle.

Do you like me new nifty goal chart? I spent $20 at the local printer (Thank you Biz Cards Xpress Fayetteville!) to have this goal chart printed out. I thought it might be cool to have this constant reminder in my office of how I’m doing and to not spend on those impulse buys because my goal is right their constantly in my line of sight! Even though I had filled out the bottom (the red) when I got it, I hadn’t gone into any depth on in. As I prepared this report, though, I did the math and marked each of the tick marks. Then I colored in where I am right now. It felt really good to color that in! I can’t wait to have this visual reminder in my home all the time.

Also, I set aside the $1500 I wanted to have set aside for FinCon! You’ll see I’ve now crossed that off my goal list at the bottom of this page.

2017 Financial Goals

  1. Build emergency savings fund to 4K.
  2. Be financially prepared for Ricardo’s Wedding ($2000 by August) and FinCon ($1500 by October).
  3. Pay off 20K of debt

Current Debt-Free Date: November 2018.

Emilie

Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.

Knowing Your Why When Paying Down Debt

// Finances

Reading Time: 2 minutes

It is important to know your “why” when you are paying down debt, because it will help you to stay motivated when times get hard. Digging your way out of this deep hole will not be simple, but when you have something motivating you, you will not give up so easily on your financial goals.

My Why

We really did not have much growing up. Money was the source of regular arguments between my parents (who ended up divorcing). As they age, they still don’t have retirement accounts or  savings, meaning that it is highly likely that at some point caring for them becomes my and my sister’s responsibility. My goal in paying off my debt quickly and aggressively while young is to set myself up for a better financial future individually and the very plausible reality that I have to care for others besides my someday-future-family.

Finding Your Own Why

It is time for you to develop your own “why” to drive you. Here are three questions that you can ask yourself to determine what it is that is motivating you to succeed in paying off your debt.

What keeps you going when things are hard?

Everyone is driven by different things within their life. Is it your faith? Your loved ones? A particular belief or hobby that makes you who you are? Decide what keeps you going in the hard times, and consider that this drive could be your own “why” for ridding your life of debt.

Who are you doing this for?

Yourself? Your kids? Often times we are motivated the most by a desire to protect others and to better our own lives. Whoever this is for, imagine them in your mind. Work hard each day for that particular person. Remember that this is about more than being debt free; it is about creating the lifestyle that you want for yourself and for your loved ones.

What can your future look like if you don’t have debt?

What goals do you have that would be positively impacted by freeing the weight of debt in your life? Maybe it would allow you to finally buy a bigger home for your family, to be able to vacation once a year with your loved ones, or to not have to worry about paying the bills each month at last. You deserve that stress-free and happy lifestyle. Remind yourself each day that if you persevere to pay off your debt, you will be one step closer to having the lifestyle that you are aiming for.

Ponder these questions and contemplate what your “Why” could be for liberating your life from debt. Once you are aware of what it is, hang a reminder on your fridge of what is inspiring you to bring about change. Allow your “Why” to encourage you; use it each and every day to urge yourself to meet your financial goals.

 

Emilie

Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.

January 2017 Debt Repayment

// Debt Repayment

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Welcome to January’s debt repayment update where I show you the progress I made on paying off my debt over the last month.

If you’re new to Burke Does, you may be wondering why I would want to share these very real and personal numbers on the blog. You can simply skip to the next section if you’re not new here.

This all started soon after college when I tried to build my first budget and had no idea how to do that. While it too me a while, I did successfully start budget and get a grasp on my debt. In January 2016, I shared my financial status. At the end of the year, I shared my Financial Year In Review. I try to be as transparent as possible in my successes and my failures. We’re just real here, no fluff or BS here.

[table caption=”January 2017″ colalign=”center”]
, December, January, Change, Percent Change
Loans,,,,
Car Loan (USAA), 16130.48, 15880.74, 249.74, 1.55%
ECSI, 8121.46,8062.30, 59.16,0.73%
Upstart, 3858.55,3695.49,163.06,4.23%
Credit Cards,,,,
Southwest (Chase), 1719.39,2013.38,-293.99,17.10%
Amazon (Chase), 0, 0, 0,–
Discover, 2228, 2182, 46,2.06%
Chase Sapphire Reserve, 0, 481.78, -481.78, 100%
Combined Debt, 32057.88,32315.69, -257.81,0.80%,
[/table]

This might come as a surprise, but I’m actually really happy with how this month went! Let me explain.

 

There are two big caveats to this month’s numbers- first, I’m currently floating about $1500 of reimbursements from work. I’ve already bought and paid for my February and March flights and my March hotel. I will submit those all for reimbursements after I return from my February trip in the middle of the month and I should get reimbursed by the end of the month. This means that I accrued $257.81 despite paying $1500 of work expenses. If you do the math there, I did preeeetty well.

Second, I’ve decided not to take a “paycheck” from Burke Does anymore. Where as last year, I was taking net revenue (the difference between what I brought in and what I spent) as pay each month, I’ve decided that I will let this money build a little bit so that I can afford some bigger expenses that I might want to spend money on for the brand this year and because I’m determined to use BD money to pay for my 2017 Financial Goal #1 and 2017 Financial Goal #2. If this were not a just-me thing, I’d run it like a real business bank account and that’s the approach I want to be better at taking this year, that way I separate BD money and Emilie money just a little bit more. I may reevaluate this position at the end of the quarter.

This month, I managed to have my best friend from high school visit and spend 8 days traveling without absolutely destroying my budget. For the first month recovering from the new year, not bad, if you ask me.

Looking forward to February, I’m excited to have my sister visiting and travel for work (and get that reimbursement).

Overall, not bad.

2017 Financial Goals

  1. Build emergency savings fund to 4K.
  2. Be financially prepared for Ricardo’s Wedding ($2000 by August) and FinCon ($1500 by October).
  3. Pay off 20K of debt

 

Current Debt-Free Date: December 2018.

Emilie

Emilie is an Army Wife, Data Engineer, and CrossFitter with a love for working through her thoughts in this space on the internet. She lives with her husband Casey and their pup Bo in Savannah, GA.

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