Addie Carns

I've been budgeting regularly for many years now, but I seem to always have just enough to pay for my bills and necessities and a little bit of entertainment. I talked to a financial advisor at my credit union about budgeting, and I am on the right track. One shift that I made after that meeting was to have money moved from my checking to my savings automatically each time I get a paycheck, and make my budgets off of the leftover amount. That way, it's as if I never had that money to begin with. I'm not able to sock away as much as I would like to right now, but it's slowly growing. Soon I will be done paying off my car and student loans, and then I will be able to increase my bimonthly savings transfer. 

Looking at how some of these different challenges affect each other, I've realized how much money I currently spend on my car, when I only regularly drive 3 days a week. I am hoping that once the Northgate lightrail station opens, and once I get comfortable with longer and all-weather rides on my E-bike, that I'll be able to sell my car. It's still really nice to be able to get out of town occasionally or go up to a trailhead, but with some advanced planning that can be done without a car as well.

I'm trying to save money for a downpayment on a house (which in Seattle sort of feels like an unobtainable goal, but we'll see). I've always done basic weekly meal planning but I just recently started planning out roughly 2 weeks at a time, ever since the stay at home order was put in place. The trick I've found has been trying to find items that can be used across several different types of meals. One of the struggles I've faced in meal planning is that I live with someone who's tastes are quite a bit different from my own, so shopping for 2 different types of meals seems to lead to more waste in general without careful planning. 

One of the things I'm realizing about a lot of the challenges I've picked is that depending on your approach, you can save money, but certain things also cost more when you pay the "true price" --supporting local agriculture is an example. It speaks to the need for both bottom up and top down approach to sustainability. Individuals being involved and making the right choices (consumer habits, transportation lifestyle, etc), community support, and strong leadership that implement progressive policy that supports small and large businesses that practice sustainability all have different parts to play. Ultimately, it seems like we won't get the policy if we don't demand it.

Mostly wrappers for food items and product packaging. There are lots of other disposable but not exactly single-use plastics that I have noticed. Shampoo bottles, thread spools (used to be wooden!) To-go food containers. Then there's things like cell phone cases that don't universally fit, so when you need a new cell phone you need a new case. Electronics in general seem like a huge source of bad waste, especially considering the ore mining that is required for lots of the internal components. 

But that is definitely the one that is hardest for me to figure out how to fully curb is plastics associated with the packaging on food products. (Also, floss.)

Plastic film is no longer recyclable.. lids under 3" that aren't attached to anything aren't either. I always thought bottle caps were, but as it turns out they are not. There are lots and lots of local resources for all different kinds of recycling and reuse. Terracycle does accept lots of different plastics for recycling that normally aren't, including plastic film. The catch is that you need to have a certain amount of weight in order for the recycling impact to outweigh the shipping impact (eg: brita filters). Also, many of the recycling programs that terraform offers are actually quite expensive. What it has made me realize overall is the less plastic we can use from the start, the better. Recycling should be the last option, and not seen to be as much of an eco-friendly process as a lot of people view it.

My sleep pattern was finally relatively consistent over the last 6 months or so, but with the stress of the stay-at-home order I have fallen out of my usual pattern, which is why I chose this challenge. I am at the point where I am needing some extra help with this so at the advice of my doctor I will be trying a low dose of melatonin 30-60 minutes before bed, trying my best to not nap in the afternoon, or if I do nap keep it less than 1 sleep cycle, and I will be adding some extra steps to my bedtime routine. I already meditate (usually in the morning or afternoon) and limit my screentime in the evening, but I will be adding some extra relaxation practices to my bedtime routine as well.

We subsidize the farming industry to be able to supply cheap meats on grocery shelves. The feed is also subsidized. We have massive supply chains in place that also enable this process. Animal welfare and the environment suffer as a result. Greenhouse gasses are a major concern (both from animals themselves and supply chains) as well as water consumption and water quality as a result of runoff from mismanaged high density lots. This can lead to major public health problems like the romaine and spinach E. coli outbreaks.

Asparagus! Occasionally I eat fresh asparagus out of season.. but it just isn't the same. So it wouldn't be that challenging for me, because I often go for canned, pickled, frozen or dried things that are off-season. Love some dried fruits.. 

Peppers would be another hard one. But they are also really good pickled!