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Clean Eating and $1,910 in Extra Income

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 44 Comments

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Clean Eating and $1,910 in Extra Income

No new picture for this week, so here’s an old one. Miami 2011.

Hi everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend. It was a pretty slow weekend for me. Just cleaning up around the house and trying to relax.

I wanted to give all of you an update on my Reconnecting with Family post that I made back in January. I CALLED MY AUNT ON SATURDAY! I’ve been debating about this forever and would call and then hang up just because I was nervous. She told me that she’s been doing the same and that she was really glad that I called.

We played phone tag a couple more times after the first time I called because she couldn’t talk for much the first time. But on Sunday we talked for nearly an hour. It was great. It was nice talking to her. We didn’t really talk about my dad at all. She would chime in every now and then and would say that he would be proud of me, but then every couple of minutes she would say that she wished she could talk about my dad but that she didn’t want to turn it into a depressing phone call. I’m still not really ready to talk about him without getting upset, so I am fine with that. Anyway, it was nice talking to her and I’m glad that I finally called.

I did ask about my grandfather and was about to ask for his phone number so that I could call him, but she said he had passed away. They weren’t close so she didn’t say much about it, and I didn’t really want to ask. I wish I would have reconnected earlier of course, and will just have to live with this regret. I spent every summer with my grandfather when I was younger, and we visited all the time, so I am sad… I wish I could say more, but it’s hard to type this so I’m just going to completely switch the subject.

So, I recalculated everything with my student loans and expected payoff, and I decided to wait until May (next month) to pay off my student loans. I really don’t want to empty everything out of our emergency fund just to pay off my student loans early, so I decided to wait until next month. I know, I know, PF FAIL especially since it seems like we have been spending a crazy amount on everything. Oh well oh well I failed you all 😛

Spending

We didn’t really do too much shopping this past week. We did go to Lowes and buy some things for the house (spent $300 on plants and a fire pit, AH!) but luckily we have a gift card that covered all of it and still have a lot more left on the gift card thankfully!. There are still a lot of other things for the house that we need to buy, and we will get to all of that eventually.

Clean Eating and $1,910 in Extra Income

Extra Income (does not include income from our main jobs)

Extra income went back up last week and it was a good week. I’m still working on increasing affiliate income, and I’m currently try to think of new ways to increase it. I’m also looking to diversify my income even more. What to you do to diversify? What about passive income? I want to get more into passive income. HELP!

Also, Lance is looking for a potential staff writer for his blog. I know that a ton of you are always seeing if I know of any opportunities, so here you go. Email him!

Posts from my blog:

  1. A Tornado and $888 Extra Income
  2. Financial Goals and Increase Income – Many Changes
  3. Side Hustle: Freelance Writer and SEO Specialist
  4. My Dad was Awesome – Thanks everyone from all of your awesome comments on this post.
  5. Easy Ways to Keep Your Pet Secure

 

Link Love

  1. Could you financially survive if you lost your job? Eyes on the Dollar. This is something that EVERYONE should think about. If you lost your job, would your life be ruined? Would you have enough to pay your bills? We work hard so that we can live on less than one income, and because of that I feel very comfortable with money and how we live.
  2. Making Bacon at Home: Editor Our Freaking Budget. LOVE LOVE LOVE this post. I love it because it makes me think about what I might do in the future…
  3. Embarrassing the Boy at the Grocery Store Tales From the Trenches. This is my life also, hahaha!
  4. The Art of the Hustle – Why Making Sense of Cents Income posts are so addictive Shop My Closet Project. Of course this post would be in my link love. Tip – if you want me to love you, make awesome posts about side hustles and what you’re doing to be more awesome with your money!

 

Food – Clean Eating!

We are doing AWESOME with our food spending this past week. We hardly ate out (I honestly can’t think of anything major), and we made really good meals every night. I started following a lot of “healthy eating” and “clean eating” people on Instagram and have been using their recipes for our meals every night. One of my favorite healthy Instagramers is FITalacious. She makes super cheap meals that actually taste pretty good. Have you ever heard of her? Who do you love on Instagram?

Our menu plan for next week includes a lot of grilled salmon, grilled chicken, brown rice, vegetables, peppers and so on. Usually we eat pretty unhealthy every night. Everything would be doused in dressing, cheese, sugar, butter or something else. Surprisingly, we have been eating everything more “clean,” which means that we’re not really adding anything to our food besides lemon. We’re both really working on eating more healthy and “clean” foods. We’ve also been enjoying the food more this way, I guess that’s just what happens when you eat extremely unhealthy for so long – you just start craving more healthy food! What’s on your meal plan? Share any links, recipes, pictures and so on in the comments below.

Being healthy

I’m doing AWESOME with this. Look above 🙂  I’ve also been doing a lot better with running. Haven’t used the treadmill too much lately. I feel bad running inside the house because my dog just sits at the end of the treadmill and makes me feel guilty for not running with her… So instead I’ve just been running outside with her.

Have you been doing well with your extra income, spending and being healthy?

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About Michelle Schroeder-Gardner

Michelle is the founder of Making Sense of Cents, a blog about personal finance and traveling. She discusses how her business has evolved in her side income series. She paid off $40,000 in student loans by the age of 24 mainly due to her freelancing side hustles. Click here to learn more about starting a blog!

Comments

  3. myfijourney says

    I try to eat healthy as much as possible. It's cheaper than heading out to restaurants. But it's way more expensive than buying processed junk at the supermarket. Why do fruits and vegetables cost so bloody much?

    Reply

  7. DC@Young Adult Money says

    So glad to hear about your Aunt! I hope you are able to continue to reconnect and build those relationships. I need to continue to focus on extra income, and have some big plans for my site, though a lack of time is always getting in the way 😉 Not using it as an excuse, I already spend almost all my free time on side income-related activities!

    Reply

  12. Michelle says

    Thanks for the shout out! Your hustle posts have re-energized and refocused me in a way that was unexpected. I can't wait to get started "hustling" in June when I get back from my trips.

    Reply

  20. Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence says

    Sorry about your grandfather, try not to live with regrets, I know it is easier said than done but it will only weight on you and there is nothing you can change. Now you reconnected with your aunt so you can make up for the past years and enjoy that relationship!
    My recent post Little house in Guatemala, stormy edition

    Reply

  21. Jenny@FrugalGuru says

    We spent way more than you this week! We're doing substantial remodeling, so my Lowe's costs are up to $400. Plus, I have a baby coming in the next few weeks, so I had to actually get baby supplies–diapers and wipes ($15), a car seat ($100), and clothes ($130). We've got everything else, thankfully.
    My recent post Frugal Guru Guide Podcast 2

    Reply

  26. debtandthegirl says

    I am glad you were able to talk to your aunt. That must have been something. Looks like you are still killing it on the ad income. Good show!
    My recent post Happy Monday!! Pinterest time!

    Reply

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