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July Goals and Life Update – We’re Going On A Cruise!

BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 61 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Hello everyone and happy July! I know, I know, I am late with publishing my July goals and June goals update. I have no excuse for this.

June was another good month for me. I got married, went on a 2 week long road trip to Colorado and Utah, I made $12,787 in June, and overall it was just a fun month.

We are still waiting on our wedding pictures, but we did get a few early pictures from our wedding photographer (I posted those the other day). They were amazing and I can't wait to see the rest.

Our honeymoon.

We went on a road trip right after the wedding, and while that was a lot of fun, that was definitely Wes's version of a honeymoon haha. I finally booked my version of a honeymoon and we will be going on a cruise.

On Sunday, we leave for an 8 day cruise. This cruise is through Royal Caribbean and goes to their private island, Jamaica, and Cozumel. I am super excited and this will be our first cruise.

Do you have any cruising tips?

Oh yeah, don't worry, I will still have internet and I will still be working at least a little bit!

 

We have entered the modern age and we now have Netflix.

Oh yeah, and we finally got Netflix! Our first month is free, and after that I believe it's $8 per month. I don't know why we waited so long to do this.

We are now thinking about getting rid of our cable because we haven't watched anything on cable since we signed up for Netflix.

Netflix is almost a bad thing for us because we are definitely watching a lot more TV than how much we used to watch. Anyone else the same way? For a day or two we actually thought about getting rid of it because of how much time we were wasting. We just have no self-control when it comes to TV!

We finished Breaking Bad the other day (oh boy was that good!), and now we are watching Orange is the New Black. I am really enjoying that show as well. Next will probably be House of Cards because everyone keeps saying that we NEED to watch it.

What else do we need to watch?

I do have a question though, what do I do if I still want to watch new shows? Is that what Hulu is for? Haha I know, I am behind on the times!

July Goals and Life Update - We're Going On A Cruise!

This is a picture I took from a wedding guest. We are missing a groomsman in this picture.

 

June Goals Update

  1. Make $13,000 in business income. FAIL. Technically, I did make over $13,000, but when you take expenses out I did not. I was super close though!
  2. Go on a honeymoon. PASS. We sort of went on a honeymoon. We went on that 2 week road trip to Colorado and Utah. I'm going to call that Wes's honeymoon. Then, we are going on a Caribbean cruise and we will call that my honeymoon. 🙂
  3. Run/walk 4 miles (4 days a week), and do some lifting/ab work. FAIL. Working out has been nonexistent for me…
  4. Have a fun wedding! PASS PASS PASS. Our wedding was amazing!

July Goals

  1. Make $13,000 in business income. I am keeping my same income goal from the past few months.
  2. Get back to my workout routine. This will be hard since we will be going on a cruise, but I would still like to accomplish SOMETHING. Luckily, our cruise ship has a track. I just need to actually use it though.
  3. Eat out no more than 5 times. We still have a restaurant problem, but the past few weeks we have been doing really well. I would really like to keep this up.  This goal doesn't include the cruise though as meals are included in the cruise fare price.
  4. Create a giveaway for my 3 year blogiversary. My 3 year date is coming up. Crazy, right? What would you like to win?
  5. Declutter my closet. My closet right now could rival something in that Hoarders show. No, seriously. It needs to change.

 

How did you do in June? What is your main goal for July?

Have you been doing well with your 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

  2. Ricky Willis says

    July 11, 2014 at 3:49 am

    Enjoy your first cruise! You will have an absolutely wonderful time.

    I’m coming to America for the first time at the end of the month. I will be going to a blogging conference run by savings.com in Austin,TX. I’m sooo excited but nervous at the same time (not sure why?). Anyway because of this I am trying to get ahead and write blogposts for while I am away. I have to write an extra 7 in the next two weeks which doesn’t sound too difficult but as always, life will inevitably get in the way.

    I will just have to get up an hour early(before the children) and try to complete them then.

    Any tips for visiting the States for the first time?

    Reply

  3. FI Pilgrim says

    July 11, 2014 at 5:18 am

    Wow, 4 weeks of honeymoon sounds awesome, good for y’all. I always tell people to try and spend every minute together you can over the first year, glad to see you taking extra honeymoon time.

    My biggest goal for July is to have child #3. I don’t have any control over that, but still. It will happen!

    Reply

  4. Allison says

    July 11, 2014 at 5:53 am

    Netflix is so addicting. Gah. House I cards house of cards house of cards! We watched the whole season in 2 days.
    Have fun in your cruise!!!!

    Reply

  6. Charlotte says

    July 11, 2014 at 7:09 am

    I love the idea of his & hers honeymoons…ha! Hope you have a great time on the cruise, Michelle!
    I totally hear you on netflix binges. You’ll fly through House of Cards!

    Have a great weekend!

    Reply

  9. Retired by 40 says

    July 11, 2014 at 7:38 am

    We’re addicted to Hulu plus like you’re addicted to Netflix. Sometimes, when I have a lot to do, I have to pause my account. It’s so hard to get stuff done when you have millions of shows at your fingertips! Have fun on the cruise – we’d love to see some pictures afterwards!

    Reply

  10. Brian says

    July 11, 2014 at 8:36 am

    On a cruise… in general… You can each bring on 1 bottle of wine to enjoy in your state room for free and each of you can bring on one case of water or 12 pack of soda (might be a case, check out cruise critic for the details, those people know their stuff)… now if you want to smuggle on Booze then i recommend the Rum Runner flasks…

    Our biggest goal for July is to have our new little girl come home from the NICU… looks like Saturday may be the day assuming she doesn’t have any set backs!

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      July 11, 2014 at 11:29 am

      Thank you for the cruising tips! I have been reading Cruise Critic like crazy and it has been very helpful.

      I hope she is able to come home and be healthy 🙂

      Reply

  11. jolie says

    July 11, 2014 at 8:37 am

    What an exciting honeymoon! You are going to have a great time.

    Do I have a Netflix binge problem? Does the cast of Madmen smoke too much???

    heh

    Reply

  14. Sharon says

    July 11, 2014 at 10:17 am

    Michelle!!!! Congrats on getting married! You looked absolutely stunning!! I’m just catching up a bit on my favorite blogs, so I was super excited to read what a wonderful time you had!
    Looking forward to hearing all about your cruise too!

    Reply

  17. Nicola says

    July 11, 2014 at 12:40 pm

    A cruise will be so exciting – I hope you enjoy it! 🙂 I’ve never been on a cruise but it’s something I would like to do. Please share some pictures of your travels 🙂

    Reply

  18. E.M. says

    July 11, 2014 at 1:19 pm

    That cruise sounds lovely! I think it’s great you’ll both be able to have “your versions” of the honeymoon. I hope you have a lot of fun! I’ve never been on a cruise before so I’m looking forward to a recap already =).

    Reply

  20. Will says

    July 11, 2014 at 3:52 pm

    I listen to audiobooks when I workout. That way, I look forward to exercise because that means I can continue ‘reading’! Maybe you could give that a shot!!

    Reply

  21. Lisa E. @ Lisa vs. the Loans says

    July 11, 2014 at 4:25 pm

    I’ve never been on a cruise! It’s funny, when I was in school to get my business degree, all of the classes I was in called for us to do a project on a company and analysis of it’s performance. Since pretty much every class had the same project, I always chose Royal Caribbean as my company for each project! I would pretty much copy and paste the company history and basic info, then I would tweak the rest of the report/project to fit with the specific project’s guidelines. This saved me so much time! Have fun, you two!

    Reply

  22. DC @ Young Adult Money says

    July 11, 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Yay House of Cards!!! Such a good show. So many tired days at work because of staying up WAY too late watching it. So sad when I finished the second season and can’t wait for the third season. Definitely a show to binge-watch.

    Cruises are amazing! I have only been on one but it was awesome. NOT having internet was one of the best parts of it, so I feel kind of bad that you will still be working but at the same time your job has allowed you to work from anywhere so I’d take that over my setup haha. Sorry if this is spammy but here’s some tips for people going on a cruise (15 to be exact! wrote it after our cruise last year): http://www.youngadultmoney.com/2013/02/25/15-tips-for-people-going-on-a-cruise/

    Reply

  23. Melanie @ My Alternate Life says

    July 12, 2014 at 1:44 am

    A cruise sounds lovely! And you did so well in June. Your income reports are always insanely inspiring. We also have Netflix, and I love watching movies and just hanging out. It’s a nice way to relax, but can be a time suck. Good luck on your July goals!

    Reply

  24. Raquel@Practical Cents says

    July 12, 2014 at 11:01 am

    A Royal Caribbean Cruise sounds great. I went on one in 2011 to Bermuda. The one thing I remember taking with me was an extension cord. After reading tips on Cruise Critic for my ship some people complained they didn’t have enough outlets to charge stuff. They were right. So glad I took the extension with me. We have had Netflix for over 10 years. It’s great. I recommend Damages, Dexter Season 1 to 4, Mad Men. I still have cable but I probably will be downgrading come October.

    Enjoy your Honeymoon!

    Reply

  25. Melissa says

    July 12, 2014 at 7:17 pm

    Yay cruise time!! I have never been on a cruise, so no recommendations on that from me, but I definitely recommend Orange is the New Black! Which you’re already watching, but still. This may be a little boring, but I also like watching some TED talks on Netflix. Some of them are really good an inspiring!

    I would totally like to win a blog coaching session from you, because I think any personalized advice from you would be gold. I don’t know if you have time for that/feel comfortable with that, but I think it would be a cool giveaway!

    Reply

  27. Suburban Finance says

    July 13, 2014 at 3:19 am

    Enjoy your cruise!!! I’ve never gone on a cruise before but this is something that I have on my bucket list 🙂 I’m also considering Royal Caribbean because I heard about their newest ship (at that time) a couple of years ago with all this new technology and I’d been wanting to go on a cruise with them so I’m curious of how it will go for you 🙂

    Reply

  29. Catherine says

    July 13, 2014 at 9:13 pm

    Have an amazing time!!! I have no cruise tips but I’m sure you’ll have a great time 🙂 On Netflix The Big C is funny…i also hear Suits is amazing.

    Reply

  30. From Shopping to Saving says

    July 14, 2014 at 11:11 am

    Michelle!!! I’m just now catching up with your blog. $22k is not bad for such a beautiful wedding that you had outdoors. I totally think it is offensive to ask someone if they are having an outdoor wedding because you couldn’t afford a real wedding. What I think people don’t understand is that weddings are EXPENSIVE no matter what! When anything is attached to the notion of a wedding, the mark-up is insane! I’m still aiming for $5,000 or less — because I want a small and intimate wedding, and we’re BROKE!

    So anyway – a cruise sounds lovely, I haven’t gone on one yet either but I’m scared that I’ll get seasick.

    Also yes, Hulu is for current shows and Netflix is for older shows. We have both =X but we use them religiously haha.

    As for shows on Netflix – also check out The Walking Dead (SO GOOD!), Sons of Anarchy (I feel like Wes would like this one haha, I was skeptical at first but it’s really really good — or do you watch this already?) I feel like we’ve talked about shows before haha. I think you watch Pretty Little Liars and Vampire Diaries already right? I need to watch House of Cards myself, but Scandal is a good one, and also How I Met Your Mother. The list goes on and on, I will check my Netflix history and get back to you hahaha.

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      July 14, 2014 at 11:39 am

      I’ve already watched all of these shows except for Pretty Little Liars 🙂 I will have to watch House of Cards though because everyone is saying to watch that.

      Good to see a comment from you, I miss talking to you haha!

      Reply

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