3 Month Money Saving Challenge

Sometimes it's best to start off small and easy, that is true for fitness and finance. With the new year approaching, many of you will be setting goals to save money. It sounds like a great goal (and IS a great goal) but if you don't really have a place to start it's overwhelming. You could do a no spend challenge but that might be a little bit too extreme for some. You could also start our beginner money saving challenge that puts you on a path to save $500 in six months but I want you to have bigger goals and accomplish them faster! You CAN do this!

This three-month money challenge will have you saving $600 by the end of the challenge. In order to do this, you will be saving $50 per week. This amount may sound easy for some but hard for others. I am confident that the majority of you CAN make this work.

In order to save the $50 per week, you will want to look at your expenses. This could be something as simple as quitting your morning drive-thru coffee habit (save at least $28 per week) and/or eating out for lunch or dinner (save at least $70 per week). No matter what time of year you are starting this challenge, you will likely have a holiday come up. Just because it's a holiday on the calendar doesn't mean you have to buy gifts or spend money. If you want to make the holiday special, do something with your loved ones! There are many free options and, again, gifts are NOT required. Another idea is to go through your bills and cut out unnecessary expenses. Maybe you can downgrade (or eliminate) your cable or you could lower the data you pay for on your cell phone plan. Every little bit adds up! You could also come up with this $50 per week by selling items that you no longer use or need. Each person will have their own journey so personalize this to you! Most of all, do not give up!

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Interested in more money saving challenges? Try one of these:

Save $1,000 in 3 Months

3 Month Money Saving Challenge

Beginner 6 Month Money Saving Challenge

52-Week Money Saving Challenge

12 Month Money Challenge

$300 12-Week Christmas Money Saving Challenge

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Looking for a printable version of this challenge? We've got you covered! Join our newsletter and you will be taken to a black and white printable version right away! Grab the printable challenge here.

The $50 per week breaks down to $200 per month but that can seem like a lot of money per month so I like to break it down into weekly goals. :) But if you like to think of it as $200 per month, go right ahead. Do what you need to do to accomplish your goals!

4 Books That Every Single Person Should Read

As we go into the new year, I wanted to take this time to share with you a few of our favorite books. As you may have noticed over the last year or two, we've moved away from being a website totally focused on clean eating and working out to a website that also incorporates another very important part of our lifestyle which we refer to as minimalism. You can read more about what that means to us here and here. Not all of these books are new books but they are the ones that we personally love. Take our word for it when we say you should read them...they are definitely worth your time!

I've shared these books a few times on Snapchat (hesheeatclean) and Instagram Stories and always get a lot of questions so I wanted to do a "real" post here too. Enjoy! :)

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Here's Rambo in front of the books, not pictured is Better Than Before because I only have the Kindle version of that.

4 Books Every Single Person Should Read

*single: not as in relationship status ;-)

The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own - Joshua Becker

If you are new to the concept of minimalism or even just living within your means this is a must-read book. If you already consider yourself a minimalist this is still a must-read book! I was able to get an advanced reading copy before it was released (and it was signed!) and I could not put it down. I finished the book in one day which is almost unheard of for me. The author, Joshua Becker, is a father of two and the creator of BecomingMinimalist.com and one of my favorites because he is so easily relatable. Minimalism doesn't necessarily mean living out of a suitcase, living in a tiny home, only having white furniture, etc. He shares his story and shows you how you can also find the life you want under everything you own!

This book helps you (as seen on the back of the book and I can attest to as well):

• Recognize the life-giving benefits of owning less
• Realize how all the stuff you own keeps you from pursuing your dreams
• Craft a personal, practical approach to decluttering your home and life
• Experience the joys of generosity
• Learn why the best part of minimalism isn't a clean house, it's a full life

Essentialism - Greg McKeown

I'll admit, this was my favorite book before Joshua Becker released his book The More of Less. Now I can't truly pick a favorite! I know I've mentioned numerous times that I think that the best way to live your life is to not care about what other people think of you and quit being a "people pleaser". I remember reading this book the first time and thinking...I've said that a million times. ;-)

As found in the book, essentialism isn't about getting done in less time. It's about getting only the right things done. If you feel any of the following questions pertain to your life, you definitely need to read this book ASAP!

• Have you ever found yourself stretched too thin?
• Do you simultaneously feel overworked and underutilized?
• Are you often busy but not productive?
• Do you feel like your time is constantly being hijacked by other people's agendas?

Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits -- to Sleep More, Quit Sugar, Procrastinate Less, and Generally Build a Happier Life - Gretchen Rubin

This book is everything. If you truly want to change your life, you must change your habits. This book will help you learn how to make your habits work for you. Many times, it's best to embrace who you are and how you do things instead of trying to change. This book has made me completely obsessed with learning everything I can about our habits. In order for us to be better parents, sons or daughters, friends, teachers, coaches, etc we must learn how people react to certain things and form habits. We can’t just expect everyone to be like us.

• Do you know those people who train for a half marathon or marathon and then never run again?
• Do you know those people who will do something that someone else wants them to do but nothing they want to do for themselves?
• Can you really wake up early to workout if you are not a morning person?
• Can you even train yourself to be a morning person?
• Why can some people develop habits that others can’t?
• Why do some things seem so easy to some people, yet so difficult to others?

Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! - Robert T. Kiyosaki

It has always frustrated me that our schools typically do not teach kids how to manage their money. Kids go all the way through high school maybe taking one or two classes on finances. Then they go to college and unless their major is related, they still do not take any classes on how to manage their money. This HAS to change. I see it all the time where people don't know how to do a budget, they don't know how to balance their bank account, they have no idea that they don't have to live paycheck-to-paycheck. 

Rich Dad Poor Dad will (as listed on the book):

• Explode the myth that you need to earn a high income to become rich
• Challenge the belief that your house is an asset
• Show parents why they can't rely on the school system to teach their kids about money
• Define once and for all an asset and a liability
• Teach you what to teach your kids about money for their future financial success

Chime in and let me know what your favorites books are. Have you read any of these?

How to Save Money on a Wedding

This has nothing to do with fitness but does have to do with us and our finance philosophy so I'm going to share it! :-) In honor our of nine year anniversary today, I wanted to share some of our wedding details. This also means a lot to me right now because my aunt, who just passed away the day before Thanksgiving, played a huge part in my wedding. She helped me, my mom, sister, and many cousins decorate the entire clubhouse and church.

We were married December 1, 2007, which was the Saturday after Thanksgiving that year. I was very fortunate to have parents who paid for our wedding (No, they didn't give us the $30,000-$40,000 that a typical wedding costs). They actually just gave us a set amount so we could have spent it all, saved it all, or any combination we chose. We decided to save half of it and spend the other half on the wedding. We also decided to get married around Christmas so that we could use the decorations again and also save on decorations since the facility would be decorated for the holidays.

We got married very young, we had both just graduated college, so we didn't have a lot of money. Our honeymoon was to Boone, NC (we drove there, it's about a 4-hour drive). What I'm trying to say is that your wedding and honeymoon do not have to cost a lot of money. The more money spent does not correlate to a better marriage. Don't start your life off with debt from one day or one week at the beginning of your marriage.

Some of what I'm going to share might be crazy to some of you but eh, if you've been reading our blog for awhile you should know I'm slightly different. ;-)

My wedding dress was $300. It was the only dress I tried on. I remember the day, my dad and I were going up to my aunt and uncles lake house and we stopped by this bridal store on the way. They were going out of business and it was already a discount store. The dress was originally $1,500 I believe but it was half off and then marked down to $300 because the store was closing. I just put it on and we bought it. It also didn't need any alternations.

Side note: I worked at a formal salon for almost 10 years that sold many high-end prom, pageant, and wedding dresses. While I loved the expensive dresses (my favorite was $3,600) I couldn't spend that kind of money on something I was going to wear once. I found a jacket from the bridal salon I worked at and bought a cathedral length veil from eBay. I wanted the jacket because I was hoping it would be cold, instead it was like the warmest day ever.

The grandmother and grandfather that I was extremely close with passed away before I was even in college but I wanted a part of them there with me. I decided to carry my grandmother's rings and a locket with their picture in it on my bouquet.

I'm honestly not sure where I came up with this idea but I wanted a sleigh to hold my cake. One of our family friends who owns a welding business in Atlanta made this for me! I still have it to this day and I put our Christmas tree on it. The cake was three different flavors (for each layer): red velvet, caramel, and vanilla.

And, of course, Scott's Cubs cake.

I wanted something simple for the church pews. This greenery was real and the small lanterns came from Ikea. My aunt and cousins made the bows and attached everything together.

As you saw with the picture above of the rings and locket, our flowers were simple red and white roses.

And of course mistletoe!

I just ordered our programs online somewhere and I'm sure I just chose the least expensive option. Honestly, I'm not too sure they are really even needed.

I loved this picture of our rings on the paper showing the date.

The clubhouse had a Christmas tree already but my aunt Doris didn't like it so she had someone go out and buy this massive tree that they then put up and decorated. <3

Not pictured is the hot chocolate bar we had but we don't have any pictures of it, which makes me sad! This was even before Pinterest was a big thing...I've just always loved hot chocolate, even though it was warm that day.

While we all have different styles and things we think are "non-negotiable" for our wedding day, there are ways that you can save money. You can use all of these or just use a few - either way, you will have more money left for your honeymoon or to use in your new marriage. Not only will these save you money but many of them will also save you a lot of time! When planning a wedding, a lot of small expenses can add up very quickly. Remember, a small leak will sink a great ship. ;-)

How to Save Money on a Wedding

• Don't think that you HAVE to do anything you don't want to do!

You don't want a wedding cake? Don't have one! You don't want to have an open bar? Don't have one! You don't want to serve a $100 per person dinner? Don't! This is your permission to have the wedding you want, not one that is expected of you. ;-)

• Skip the "Save the Date".

With the social media time we live in, there's really no need for save the dates to be mailed. Sure, they are cute and realllllly tempting to want to buy but skip it. Not only do you have to purchase the invite but you also have to pay to mail them. If you want to send a save the date, you can do an email invitation. I'm still pretty traditional in the sense that I like mailed invitations but you could even do those via email if that's not something that means a lot to you.

• No favors.

While they look so cute, favors aren't necessary. Favors usually take a lot of time to put together or if you do buy them, the expense quickly adds up. Scott and I skipped the favors and instead made a donation to charity in honor of the wedding guests. I can't remember exactly which one it was but I think we did veterans and cancer research (since Scott's dad died of cancer).

• Get married in a slower season or an "off day".

You can often get married for half the price if you choose a Sunday over a Saturday. Also, avoiding peak wedding times will save you a TON of money!

• Don't have an open bar.

If you don't want alcohol at your wedding, don't have it. We had only beer and wine. That drastically reduced our tab.

• Don't fall for the small expenses they try to tack on like chair covers.

We were offered chair covers for our reception. While I strongly considered it because it would have looked SO pretty, I couldn't justify the cost. I think it was around $3 per chair which doesn't sound like much but quickly adds up (along with all the other "not very expensive" expenses).

• Skip the details like toasting flutes, guest books, garter, etc.

I bought our toasting flutes from a consignment store. The bridal salon I used to work in had flutes that started at $75. THAT IS INSANE. Same thing with the guestbook, just get a generic guest book if you even have one. I don't know where ours is and I don't think I ever looked at it. Buy a generic garter. I actually had a Cubs one ordered for ours but somehow it got lost in the commotion and we never found it!

• You don't have to buy each other gifts.

Your marriage is your gift to each other. You don't need to feel pressured to buy something else to exchange.

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These are just things that come to mind but there are a ton of other ways to save! Maybe I'll add to these as I think of more.

I don't even know where our wedding album is. I don't have any idea where the CD of photos is from our wedding. I've never watched our wedding video (I didn't pay for this, a family friend recorded it). I really don't care. Our wedding honestly doesn't matter to me. It's the life we have now that matters.