Author: Ariana Peters

Christian, homeschool mom, runner of 6 half marathons, PR 2:57 so far. Yes I am a slow runner. Small scale homesteading.

My budget in conclusion

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

The dread pirate Roberts (or as we call it, the summer cold) has struck! Just days before I head out on my next adventure so I am spending most of my free time asleep.

Thursday

My only expenditure was re-upping my dogs wellness plan as well as her flea medication prescription oh and I got her some enzyme chew things because I am terrible about brushing her teeth. Total subtracted from checking: $62.44

Friday

Payday!!!!!!!!!!!!

And then it all goes away….Expenditures:

$66.00 on clothes

$10.29 at target for airplane friendly toiletries

$43.63 at REI on a new sports bra (my others are all 2-3+ years old) and energy gels to help me keep going on the long crazy days

$7.99 at Barnes and Noble……because I have a problem with books (but I had just donated 2 boxes worth of books to Good Will so buying one new book balances out right?)

All bills sent out taking down to less than $200 in my account again.

Saturday

$9.05 coffee and a breakfast sandwich

$15.00 transferred to my Starbucks card for all the airport coffee I’ll need during traveling.

$10.85 at panda express

I am too tired from being sick to color code it. But overall I don’t feel to bad about these 3 days. A few things could have definitely been cut though.

 

Monday Motivation**September 11, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

 

(Image from Google)

Working out last week was a total bust since basically the entire state of Oregon was (and still mostly is) on fire. It was literally raining ash and I was not going to work out in that. I haven’t had a gym membership for a few months so I could save money so I couldn’t go inside on a treadmill. Hopefully this week is going to be better and I can find my motivation again because it has been about 2.5 weeks since I got out there and ran.

How are your workouts going?

 

Grandparent’s day!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, Uncategorized

Shout out to my amazing grandmother!!!! Just like my amazing mom that I talked about on mother’s day my grandma is one for the books. She is the matriarch of our family in the true sense of the word, we all visit and gather around her. For someone who has been alive for 90 years she is surprisingly forward thinking, like my mother she does not judge people she only supports. It is no wonder that I have such an amazing mother when she was raised by such an amazing person.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a very warm, loving family and I think it is in most part to this wonderful woman who had a hand in raising us all, either directly or indirectly.

Remember that life is fleeting and you never know what tomorrow holds, tell the people you love how you feel, reach out to someone today and tell them that you love them.

1 week to Europe!!!

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle, travel

 

Holy Hanna I fly to Europe in a week!!! I don’t know how I am going to sleep this week!

Things you should be doing the week before you travel:

print out all confirmations; flights, trains, boats, activities, everything. Print a copy of your itinerary.

Start the basics of your packing (if you are going on a long trip and don’t want a million suit cases you will pack and repack to find the best way to fit everything in.

How are you getting to the airport, train station, bus station, boat etc? Are you taking a cab or Uber, or do you need to make arrangements with someone to take you AND pick you up? Nail down that information now.

Also make copies of all important documents, passport, ID, insurance cards etc. Also leave a copy of each of these with someone who is not traveling with you, generally your emergency contact.

Take a deep breath and enjoy this exciting anticipation!

The budget continues

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

Tuesday

Starting checking balance: $168.67

Balance on credit card

1: 3 payments from being paid off!!!

2: $200 over limit

3: at limit

-5.00 from checking for trimet to get to work

+100 from check

-24.84 from checking for dog food and human food (necessity)

-66.00 on clothing purchase (impulse but I had been looking for a few more comfortable pieces to take to Europe so)

-19.95 for weight watchers (I need to take some serious consideration on this because I am not using it as faithfully as I should and if I don’t get back on the band wagon this month then I need to get rid of it because I am wasting money)

ending checking balance: $152.88

Balance on credit card

1: Same

2: same

3: same

 

Wednesday

Starting checking balance: $152.88

Balance on credit card

1: 3 payments from being paid off!!!

2: $200 over limit

3: at limit

-5.00 from checking for trimet to get to work (necessity)

-7.00 from checking for taco bell (impulse, I could not eat the same meal for the 5th time this week)

Starting checking balance: $140.88

Balance on credit card

1: Same

2: Same

3: Same

 

These were almost really good days. I like looking at my spending like this because it really forces me to think about what I have been spending and why and where I can make improvements.

Peru

by Ariana Peters, posted in Uncategorized

We left off with the vaccines in Heredia. The next morning Laura and I boarded a plane to Lima, Peru where we met our guide and the other people we were hooking up with from the Ecuador volunteer/adventure tour group. We got to Lima, Peru pretty late so we were all taken by coach bus to a hostel for the night. It was a basic nice hostel. Some of the people, well most decided to head out to eat but I was tired and decided to get a jump on sleep, we were getting up to board a plane to Cusco, Peru in just a few short hours.

We were up early the next morning to catch our flight. We got to Cusco and checked into our hostel and dropped our stuff off. We walked around Cusco and got to have a traditional dinner with a dance show from some locals, that was nice. One thing I distinctly remember about that first night is freezing while I slept! We had just come from warm Costa Rica then we crossed the equator into winter!

And we were off, in the AM the next day we boarded a bus to take us out of the city, since we had a limited amount of time they drove us part of the way up the first day and let us off the bus around lunch time where the cook (yes we had a cook) made us soup I think. After lunch we started our trek up the mountain.

Let me take a little break here and say that before I ever left home for Costa Rica I had been working out and eating well but I had not been a big hiker.

Nothing could have prepared me for hiking at that altitude (not true I am sure something could have but I certainly hadn’t done any prep work for hiking up a literal mountain). The entire way that first day I though, oh crap what have I gotten myself into. We just kept climbing up. I think we hiked 9 miles that day then camped under a glacier. Yes a GLACIER! I thought last night was cold, oh just you wait, I slept in my hiking shoes. I also got altitude sickness meaning I drank a little broth that night but that was it. My tent mate Laura had some Peruvian version of fruit loops so I had a few handfuls of those but I got up in the middle of the night and threw everything up. Oh boy, this is going to be rough.

We hiked in between those mountains

The summit night 1

The next day dawned early and was still super cold. I still felt terrible and today was our longest day. And we headed up the dreaded switchbacks. Probably one of the hardest days of my life. I refused to get on a horse or let my guide carry my pack, I was going to conquer this dang mountain! And when I did make it to the top it was one of the best feelings ever! We summited the highest point amd made out way down to the otherside. 

No lie i teared up coming back down. We got back down to level ground by lunch time on day. But i also got sicker and sicker. I still wasn’t eating or drinking much amd expelling so much energy. I slept at lunch and woke up with a terrible headache. My guide finally convinced me to ride a horse the last 2 hours to our camp for the night.  I had made the summit so i caved. He brought me a gatorade which helped sooo much. 

Day 3 i was back on my feet and at the front of the pack because it was fairly flat hahaha. I bought a gatorade anywhere i saw one and some candy bars. On day 3 we were descending into the cloud forest so it was warming up as well. 

Overall i don’t look all that great but you must remember at this point i am ij my 6th week of traveling with no normal access to a shower and i was recovering from altitude sickness and dehydration. But it was a great day to feel strong and well again. The night of the 3rd day of hiking we reached Aguas Calientes, the closest town to Machu Picchu. We double bunked in a hostel and slept hard!!!! Oh and i had a pizza for dinner hahahaha!!!!

The next day we were all bussed up to Machu Picchu where we had a guided tour then we were on our own and just had to be at the hostel ready to go at 9pm. 

I think we were delirious at this point

Llama!!!!

The clouds in the morning were amazing!!!

And for the iconic shot

We left on a bus at 9pm to take a train to another bus to another train to another bus to a hostel for about 3 hours where i repacked my stuff, showered and got about 1 hour sleep. Then it was another bus to the Cusco airport to the Lima airport to Guadalajara to LAX. I was so happy to be home. And this trip will forever be in my heart. 

I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip! Soon to come is my adventure in Europe!!!!!

Budget check-in

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

Starting checking balance: $220.17

Balance on credit card

1: close to paying off. 3 more payments

2: $200 over limit

3: at limit

Sunday

-40.00 from checking account for Groupon purchase (impulse buy, I have wanted to try an escape room for awhile now and decided to buy a Groupon for the bf and I now while I still have a few pennies to spare because once the apt happens and when I get back from the trip I have no extra pennies so I impulsively bought it now) IT is good for 120 days so I think it will be good in like 3 months to pull out of my back pocket when we are both sick of not having money to do anything.

Ending checking balance: $180.17

Balance on credit card

1: Same as starting

2: same as starting

3: same as starting

Monday

Starting checking balance: $180.17

Balance on credit card

1: close to paying off. 3 more payments

2: $200 over limit

3: at limit

-5.00 from checking for trimet ticket (this is how I get to work 3 days out of the week)

-6.50 from checking for plastic forks and study candy (I needed the forks because like a total blonde I forgot a fork for my dinner, I do this about once a month so it was probably a good investment to keep in my backpack. No good explanation for the candy)

Ending checking balance: $168.67

Balance on credit card

1: Same as starting

2: same as starting

3: same as starting

 

The Groupon purchase was impulsive, hopefully I wont regret that $40 loss before I get paid again and hopfully we will super enjoy it when the time comes and the $6.50 was unfortunate but at least half necessary.

 

Monday Motivation**September 4, 2017

by Ariana Peters, posted in food, healthy lifestyle, school/studying, training

 

(Image from Google)

Goodbye August and Hello September!!

Wow August flew by. 

School: My final ‘opens’ online today and closes on the 6th so lots of studying going on over here. This basically means I can take my final anytime in the next 2 days. It is online, 100 cumulative questions and I have 82 minutes to complete it. Whatever I have done will submit after 82 minutes. After that I am done for a few months! I will think of it as winter vacation hahahahaha.

Food and Fitness: In the next 2 weeks I am trying to get as much food bought, made, frozen and prepped as possible. When I get back from the cruise my budget will be even more restricted. I will by trying to save a bit to go toward my expensive CNA class come January, my BF and I are trying to find a place to move into together which will also cost money and of course I need to continue to work on paying my roommate back as she paid upfront for 95% of my Europe costs so I owe her about 2 grand still. Oh the joys of being poor. But overall in my life I can’t complain too much, my life could be so much worse, so I choose to not stress about my debt and instead slowly chip away at it.

As far as workouts go, if I get a workout in before I finish my final, great, but I am not banking on it so my goal this week is 3-4 workouts.

10 days and counting to europe!!!!!

Let’s see where I can pinch some pennies

by Ariana Peters, posted in healthy lifestyle

I have on many occasions talked about being broke and my debt, and I fully acknowledge that I need to save money yet somehow in the moment it feels ok to drive through somewhere or buy things to make a meal because it sounds good or I am craving it or I really want to watch the next episode of a TV show so I purchase it for $2 on amazon…what is $2 right? The problem is that $2 turns into $6 without me even really thinking about it or truly comprehending in the moment that I just basically bought a Frappuccino from Starbucks.

A few months ago I added up all the misc food spending I did and since then I have been doing a lot better about impromptu grocery runs and fast food runs which has totally helped my budget and my waistline hahaha.

I think it is time to take it a step further and break down everything I spend so I really get a feel for my spending. I think I have said that I grew up in a pretty instant gratification household with a dad (who I love and miss everyday and was an amazing dad but like all humans had his flaws) taught his kids through example that if you want something, throw down some plastic and get it. We all have champagne tastes on a beer budget. Even when we make more money we somehow manage to spend more money.

Anyways:

I am going to use this blog to keep me honest as in I am going to be brutally honest about my finances. From Saturday to Saturday I am going to break down every time any money leaves my pocket/checking account/credit card/etc. And see if it is something I really need or an impulse buy or what. Ready?

Saturday:

Starting checking balance: $500.68

Balance on credit cards

1: so close to paying it off!!! 3 more months!

2: $200 over limit (thankfully they don’t charge a fee)

3: (at limit)

-230.00 from checking account for car payment (yay paying a bill!!! and paying $2 more than is actually owed per month to knock 1 entire month’s payment off at the end)

-4.50 from checking for pajamas from Amazon (not needed, pleasure buy)

-6.19 from checking account for lunch from Subway (not needed, I didn’t make extra biscuits yesterday for my lunch today because I was lazy, so money expended because I didn’t prep fully)

-7.99 from checking for Netflix.com (in theory this should be good because I did it so that when my bf and I get an apt we wont be tempted to pay for cable, and we will go out to the movies less, but it is not a necessity and we haven’t moved yet)

-21.53 from checking for groceries from Grocery Outlet (yay for getting everything I can at the cheap place first)

-10.30 from checking for groceries from Wal-Mart (2 impulse buys here, 4 corn for $1 and Carmel M&Ms, I am not ashamed of the corn buy lol)

My 2 grocery shopping trips went well, for about $30 I made 10 meals last night and have 2 ears of corn left to snack on as well as 2/3 of a rotisserie chicken to put in salads this week and much on. I also have 12 top ramen hahahahahaha. So all in all I can probably weasel about 25 meals out of that $30. Not too shabby.

Ending checking balance: $220.17

Balance on credit card

1: Same as starting

2: same as starting

3: same as starting

 

Unnecessary money spent $20.02!!!!!!!!!!! A few small things I didn’t think mattered in the moment turned into me basically throwing away a $20 bill.

I will check back in on Tuesday to see how Sunday and Monday went.

School Catch-up

by Ariana Peters, posted in school/studying, travel

How is school going this quarter…..ehh. My class ends in 4 days, I currently have an A so I am doing something right but by no means did I perform to the best of my ability. I did great at the beginning of the quarter, I set time aside to study and did my vocab, read the book chapters and worked through the workbook and looked at the online lessons. As the quarter progressed I started just doing the vocab, which did enough that I have an A in the class but currently there is a significant chance it will drop to a B after the final which is 40% of my grade.

Monday evening and all of Tuesday will be reviewing and cramming so I don’t bomb the final which is comprehensive.

I think several things contributed to me slacking off at the end here:

  1. Taking the class online makes it easy to slack, I don’t need to answer a teachers questions or contribute to any in class discussions.
  2. At work I was either studying or had it up in the background while I was taking a break from the vocab and reading a book online, which meant that for almost 40 hours a week I was doing superficial easy studying of medical terminology (which seems like it would be great but I am at work so I can’t really focus which means this wasn’t very deep studying) and because I was ‘studying’ it so much I had no desire to even look at or think about medical terminology outside of work. I did a little studying on my phone here and there but that quickly ceased.
  3. I watch WAY too much TV outside of work, this has always been a problem for me, I become so unproductive when I turn the TV on, and once I turn it on, it tends to stay turned on. As my work load becomes more intense this will HAVE to change.
  4. All lumped into one: time management, space, organization
    1. I need to create a study space, someplace I go or set up that says it’s study time. I used to have a whole setup when I first went to school. I still have everything I need but haven’t created the space. Or of course I would camp out on campus in the library between classes or between class and work and I haven’t gotten back to giving myself that option yet.
  5. Headspace-I don’t think I have completely readjusted to being a student, I am still seeing work as the largest commitment in my life and I need to shift that thinking and focus to school.

 

I will not be taking any classes during the fall semester/quarter due to the cruise. I am going to go enjoy the cruise and enjoy this as my last big adventure for a little while because live is going to severely change. When I get back I need to get all my vaccines up to date, and take the American Red Cross’ Basic live saving CPR class then apply for a CNA class. My boyfriend and I are also working on moving in together. I will start the CNA class in January (baring any problems) which is a 7 credit class and will take a lot of time. After that it is the nursing program which will take more time. So I have 4.5 miles to get my sh*t completely together. I will keep you posted!