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August Goals and Life Update – We Sold The Camaro

Last Updated: BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 58 Comments

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August Goals and Life Update - We Sold The CamaroHello everyone and happy August! I haven’t done a life update since last month’s goal’s update, so I am happy to publish this today.

July was another great month. We went on a long cruise, went to a few state parks, enjoyed the great weather, and overall had a great month.

We had one big change for the month of July though…

We got rid of the Camaro.

Yes, I said it. After owning the Camaro for about 1.5 years, we decided to get rid of it. We loved it, but we decided that right now was just not the time to have it.

It was not practical when it came to gas mileage (we want to start going on more road trips), the dogs couldn’t go in the car (not with leather seats!), and the car had drag tires so it couldn’t be driven in temperatures less than 45 degrees or if it was raining. I also couldn’t drive it because it was a manual and had too much power (I could literally only do burnouts in it), so we were practically sharing one car which got difficult even though I worked from home.

Yes, so there were plenty of reasons to get rid of it!

Instead, we sold it and bought a car that gets 36 miles to the gallon. Much better than what we had before! This car has all wheel drive, four doors, and can be driven whenever.

I won’t lie though, I was sad to get rid of it. I know, I know, being attached to a car is pathetic, especially in the personal finance blogging world. I loved the car though and it was a lot of fun. Also, my dad had a Camaro that he bought in 1984 brand new and he had it until he got sick, and it was his favorite thing ever.

He was waiting for the new style to come out but passed away shortly before they released it, so I had an attachment to the Camaro we bought.

I know he would have loved it!

 

Our cruise honeymoon.

We went on a cruise last month. It was a 7 night Caribbean cruise. It was a lot of fun and it was our first cruise.

Cruising is definitely the best way to have a relaxing vacation. Each day we ordered room service breakfast (pictured above), we would walk around the ship, leave the ship whenever we were at port, and then my favorite part was dressing up each night. I loved seeing everyone in their nice evening gowns, tuxes, and suits.

I must not be very fancy because I think this was my very first dinner where people wore tuxes and evening gowns!

 

July Goals Update

  1. Make $13,000 in business income. PASS. I did well last month!
  2. Get back to my workout routine. FAIL. We did a 3.5 mile hike that was pretty tough, but that’s the only workout I’ve done in the past month.
  3. Eat out no more than 5 times. PASS. We hardly ate out this past month. The times that we did eat out, our bill was always less than $20.
  4. Create a giveaway for my 3 year blogiversary. FAIL. Haven’t really thought about this yet. I think I plan on giving out a large amount of cash. Can’t wait!
  5. Declutter my closet. FAIL. Haven’t done this yet. I do have a lot of items in bags that are ready to get rid of but they are still just sitting in my closet taking up a large amount of room.

 

 

August Goals

  1. Make $13,000 in business income. I’m keeping my goal the same as last month. August usually isn’t the best for me, so I don’t want to create an unrealistic goal. $13,000 is still great though, of course!
  2. Work out 2 times a week. I’m trying to start this slowly. Obviously working out a crazy amount doesn’t work for my because I get unmotivated pretty quickly.
  3. Walk 10 miles on a trail once a week. We are gradually trying to get to doing this multiple times a week, but there is only so much time out there for us. We would like to hike the whole Colorado trail within the next year and I want to be in better shape for that. Have any of you completed the Colorado Trail?

 

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

 

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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. Liz says

    That honeymoon trip sounds fantastic. My husband and I are talking about going to either Mexico or somewhere in the Caribbean this winter. Problem is we have really busy schedules Jan-March so I’m not sure when we’ll be able to go.

    Reply

  5. John @ Wise Dollar says

    Looks like you had a full, but good month Michelle! Hearing about your cruise makes me want to go on one again. They’re definitely the way to go if all you’re looking to do is relax. My July was good and August looks hopeful. We leave for our 3 week trip in a few weeks and have a ton to get done prior so it’ll be a busy next few weeks. 🙂

    Reply

  7. Brian says

    I know the pain in selling a car your really enjoyed. I had to sell my convertible this year when I realized that trying to put two kids (in car seats) in the back just wasn’t practical. So I went for 4 door and great gas mileage. It’s not quite as fun a car, but it will make my midlife crisis that much more enjoyable!

    Reply

  8. Retired by 40 says

    That room service looks delicious! We’ve been considering a cruise, but not sure how we’ll like it. It’s really nice to hear you say that it was really relaxing, so maybe we’ll try a 3 night one first. Where did you cruise out of, and did you fly to the port or drive?

    Reply

  9. cherie says

    So glad you had your honeymoon 🙂 Sounds lovely

    And kudos to you for getting rid of the car for practical reasons when you held it for emotional ones – difficult but worthwhile!

    Reply

  10. Mrs. Frugalwoods says

    Oh that brunch looks amazing–reminds me of room service at the resort we went to for our honeymoon. What is it about honeymoons and food?! I think I gained 5lbs on mine. Curious to know what kind of car you bought? And, congrats on doing so well in July! I like your goal of hiking more in August, I wish I could hike everyday…it doesn’t even feel like exercise!

    Reply

  11. Bell says

    Oh, it would break my heart if I had to sell my Camaro. I can understand having an attachment to a vehicle (*especially* given your dad’s story). You definitely did the reasonable thing, though. And that cruise sounds fantastic! Totally carefree.

    Reply

  13. Money Beagle says

    Good to see you made some progress. Cars like the Camaro are great for fun, but it sounds like you had that and decided that it was time to move on. I had a Corvette for about two years and it was exactly the same thing…once I decided I had my fun and wanted to put my money to use for other things, it was an easy decision to sell it.

    Reply

  18. Wendy@BlushandBarbells says

    NOT pathetic! My first car was a 1985 Camaro and I loved that thing so much. I prefer to be without a car these days, but if I saw a Camaro from that generation for sale, I’d be sorely tempted to buy it!

    Reply

  20. Deb @ Saving the Crumbs says

    Congratulations on your first cruise! Watch out, you may be bitten by the cruise bug now like we are. 🙂 We went on a Caribbean cruise for our honeymoon too and couldn’t wait to start counting down the days until our next one. Blessings in your marriage!

    Reply

  21. Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies says

    Glad you enjoyed your cruise – I hope the weather cooperated! We’ve been having a hot summer, but luckily the storm season has been pretty mild so far. Did you manage to poke around and check out other towns besides Fort Lauderdale at all?

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Thanks! No, we didn’t do anything else in the area. We’ve been to Miami and Fort Lauderdale plenty of times so we decided just to go home right after the long cruise.

      Reply

  23. Melissa says

    Haha, you and me both not being very fancy! That sounds like one of the best parts of a cruise – getting to dress up and finally wear some of the fancy clothes you own! Congrats on your new car – although selling the Camaro was tough, you knew it was right for the both of you. Plus, you can’t beat great gas mileage 🙂

    Reply

  25. Victoria Virgo says

    Congratulations on hitting your earnings target. I will be publishing my first Income Report post next week. Reading blogs like yours inspires and motivates me. My numbers may be low right now but I look forward to hitting the $1,000+ figures by the end of the year.

    Have a great August 🙂

    Reply

  26. E.M. says

    I totally get attached to cars, too. They hold a lot of memories! I admire that you decided it didn’t fit with your current lifestyle, though. Tough decision, but worth it I’m sure. My cousin as a Legacy and she loves it. I need to start with exercising a few times a week, too. I get unmotivated pretty quickly :/.

    Reply

  28. James Salmons says

    You will love the A 2015 Subaru Legacy. We bought a new Subaru in 2010, an Outback. Gas mileage is not the only economic advantage of their cars.

    My biggest surprise was when I went into the insurance office expecting a big rate increase since I was trading in a ten year old little buick that was not worth much any more. My rate actually went down! It was all due to the fact that the Subaru had so many safety features and theft prevention features.

    You will enjoy the ride, too. The Subarus hardly lean at all going around corners.

    Reply

    • Michelle S. says

      Thanks! Wes used to sell new Subarus, so I’m excited about it!

      We were surprised because our car insurance actually went up. We had a brand new Camaro 2SS, with drag tires and racing everything and our car insurance used to be cheaper!

      Reply

  29. The Wallet Doctor says

    Way to go on making the difficult but rational choice on the car! It can be hard to get rid of something so cool, but ultimately you’ll bebetter off and happier without something that eats at your wallet and quality of life.

    Reply

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

    I don’t think it’s pathetic that you were attached to your Camaro. It brings back a lot of good memories for you! Must have been tough to sell, but I think you made a great decision. Good luck with your August goals!

    Reply

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