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.)

I am so proud of these 5 minute showers! I need to get more consistent but these feel like a big achievement. I think the next step I should take to reduce my water footprint is to make sure I turn on and off the water right when I need it/am done with it, and make sure I don't get distracted and let it run. I might think about starting my shower before its all the way warm, as sometimes it can take a while to warm up and i hate wasting all that water.

I think it is so important and powerful to reflect on what is important to you and how you demonstrate that in your life. What do you love? What makes you feel accomplished? What do you want to leave behind? I want to invest more time in reflecting on these things and how I can prioritize those things in my life.

I feel less overwhelmed. Given the COVID situation, I am significantly less anxious when I spend less time engaged in social media. It also allows me to be more present in my current surrounding, allowing for my mind to wind up/down at the appropriate times during the day.