One Hundred Dollars a Month

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.

12 Goals for the New Year

My Big List of Goals I’m Going to Accomplish in 2022 Week 43 of 52

By Mavis Butterfield on - 15 Comments

Here’s my big list of things I want to accomplish in 2022:

Remodel The Kitchen 

We are about a week away from countertops, backsplash and our new sink!!! 

The plumber will be here a few days after that and I can tell you already the first thing I’m going to do is make a big ol’ mess baking so I can test out the dishwasher. 

 

Sell Enough Rugs to Buy an AGA Stove DONE!!!

I hit my goal of selling enough of my 2022 hooked rugs and pillows in my Etsy shop to pay for my new Duck Egg Blue AGA cooker. But since the stove was damaged… We now have to wait another 6-9 months until the end of May 2023 for the new one to arrive. 🙁

Fill the Canning Cupboard DONE

I still have a few more {seasonal} things to can and I’ll do that once I have a working sink.

But for now, it’s been fun pulling jars of jam from the pantry every couple of days or so to spread on our morning toast, or to mix in with oatmeal. 

So far this year I have canned:

Not canned, but in jars:

Earn Enough Money Selling {?????} To Pay For Our 2022 Grocery Tab By The End Of The Year.

I may have to reach this goal in 2023. With everything that’s been going on this year, I haven’t been able to make it a priority and with it getting so close to the end of the year, I’m not sure how much of a dent I’d make. We’ll see.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables.

Doing great with this goal. 🙂

Keep The Crafts… In The Craft Room.

I managed to get everything out of the dining room…now I’m just getting those last few things out of the family room and then our house will be put back together. 

Home renovations are hard. I don’t know what the best part is, having a clean house again, or a new kitchen.

Tap Our 2 Maple Trees and Make Maple Syrup {DONE}

It was a good experience, and we’re going to do it again next year {although I would like to find a few more trees to tap so our yield is a bit higher}. 

Make a Quilt Top

Finally I am putting cut out quilt squares at the top of my list for next weeks tasks. 

1 Craft / Blog Free Day a Week {I’ve had 42 craft/blog free days this year so far.}

Misty fall mornings are the best. 

Be More Intentional With My Time

This past week Lucy and I spotted about 30 wild turkeys in the backyard… and boy are they getting awfully plump.

Keep My Husband Busy 

It was another busy week for the HH. Finding  plumber, yard work, putting together furniture and cutting two trim pieces for the kitchen. Busy busy!

Next on his list is getting the boat out of the water and the floating dock up.

The HH’s Honey Do List {so far} for 2022

  • Take over cooking {I’ll still do the baking and canning}
  • Cut down the cluster of trees in the backyard DONE
  • Build a new set of stairs down to the water. 
  • Fill the field {with soil} DONE
  • Remodel 1 bathroom
  • Replace fireplace tile
  • Build window boxes for the front of the house
  • Build an arbor for the wisteria {We decided to move the wisteria to another location instead}
  • Order 4 cords of firewood by the end of May and stack them DONE
  • Sand the floors in the entire house DONE
  • Install new garage door openers DONE {new addition}

My House Projects For This Year {so far}

My big house project this past week has been lining the pantry cupboards and shelves. I still have a few more to do and then I’ll work on filling the spice jars for the new spice rack.

Things I need to get done this year:

  • Finish painting the outside of the house
  • Finish painting the inside of the house 
  • Make something to hang above our new console table
  • Make it look like people actually live here {working on it!}
  • New window treatment for the kitchen window {Have it, just waiting for the HH to install it}

Try 24 New Recipes {20 down, 4 to go}

I made a beef pot pie with a puf pastry crust. 

So far this year I have shared the following recipes:

Listen to 12 Audiobooks {13/12 so far} DONE

No new audiobooks this past week, but I did get a chance to look through some old Maine magazines. 

Audiobooks I’ve listened to this year:  

Get a Fishing License and Catch a Fish

Still no fish. 

My List of Garden Projects For This Year I want to Accomplish

So far this year we’ve harvested: 849 pounds and 10 oz of fresh garden goodness. 

  • Cabbage 36 pounds 9 ounces
  • Radishes 3 pounds 14 ounces
  • Broccoli 3.5 ounces
  • Lettuce 1 pound 4 ounces
  • Chives 1 pound 2 ounces
  • Tomatoes 453 pounds 12 ounces 
  • Blueberries .75 ounces
  • Shelling Peas 7 pounds 4 ounces
  • Green beans 25 pounds 11 ounces
  • Zucchini 45 pounds 9 ounces
  • Cucumbers 28 pounds 1 ounces
  • Carrots 31 pounds 14 ounces
  • Eggplant 4 pounds 2 ounces
  • Cauliflower 2 pounds 13 ounces
  • Peppers 17 pounds 4 ounces
  • Garlic 9 ounces
  • Onions 13 pounds 2 ounces
  • Leeks 3 pounds 14 ounces
  • Beets 24 pounds 1 ounces
  • Potatoes 39 pounds 6 ounces
  • Sweet Potatoes 1 pound 2 ounces
  • Corn 32 ears
  • Various Winter Squash {pumpkins, butternuts, delicata} 94 pounds 1 ounces

My garden projects for this year:

  • Map out this year’s garden by April 1st – Done
  • Plant apple or pear trees – Done
  • Plant raspberry and blueberry bushes  Done
  • Plant asparagus and rhubarb – Done
  • Grow 500 pounds of food Done
  • Expand the lasagna garden We created a new garden plot instead Done
  • Finish clearing the front of the property Done
  • Get some garden pots for the front an back patio/porches Done

Create 12 New Rug Hooking Patterns and/or Kits Done! {34 out of 12 finished so far}

I added 4 new patterns to my Etsy shop last night for a grand total of 34 new patterns so far this year! WOWZA. 3 of the patterns were adapted from Doreen Frost originals and one was my own. 

It’s been a busy year for patterns. Next year though, I think I’ll slow down a bit and work on some larger ones that have been on my “must hook” list. 

New Rug Hooking Patterns/Kits For 2022

Have All My 2022 Ornaments Finished by April 1st. Done!

All the ornaments I’ll be making for this year are done and listed in my Etsy shop. 🙂 

52 Walks {We’ve gone on 44 of 52 so far}

Visit 12 Towns in Maine That I Haven’t Been to Before

So far we’ve visited:

How about YOU? How did you do with working towards your goals for 2022? 

~Mavis

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Comments

  1. Brenda L says

    My goal is to pay down my mortgage and what is the fastest way to do that paying the principal every month or making extra payments ?

    Reply

    • Janet says

      Add what you can each month to the principle. Some months you might have more extra money and some months not much or not anything. You are not locked into a set amount. Any amount helps in your final goal. As your principle goes down, the interest amount goes down. Good luck!

      Reply

    • Virginia says

      I’m not clear about the difference you’re describing between paying the principal and making extra payments, but the bottom line is that any additional payment you make that you want used to shorten your loan should be designated as “principal only”. If not, your mortgage company might use some of the additional funds toward loan interest. There are many articles online you can read as well as calculators to project an early mortgage payoff. Good luck!

      Reply

    • Jennifer says

      Making extra payments will help your principal go down IF you make sure the money is applied to principal only. This usually involves a phone call to arrange it with your mortgage company. Before you can pay extra on your principal, you need to make your monthly payment. Also, interest accrues DAILY. So it is better to make many smaller payments during the month when you have the money, rather than saving it all up to make a larger payment once a month. For us, anything we pay on our monthly payment that is above the monthly payment is automatically applied to principal only, but every company is different. Call the customer service number to find out what you need to do to make the extra payments.

      Reply

    • Elle says

      We set up biweekly payments on our 30y mortgage and that immediately reduces that compounding interest by 10y. Then as our income grew, we added every penny of that take-home pay to principle. Paid it off in less than 5y.

      That was a long time ago and I got a big raise once when my profession was playing catch-up.

      Pay principle extra every single month! My mortgage was with a local bank so I could walk in and do that easily 🙂

      Reply

      • Julia Park Tracey says

        Although home mortgages are known as “good” debt because you can write off all the interest. You can’t do that on a credit card or home equity loan. Consider paying off all other debts first because your mortgage interest is useful in reducing your overall taxes. You may be house rich but cash poor later. Best to ask a tax pro.

        Reply

  2. Annette says

    Pay your regular payment (which is principal + interest) plus pay extra principal. Tell your mortgage holder to app!y the extra directly to principal.

    We paid off a 30 year mortgage in 15 years! Check out Dave Ramsey YouTube or books.

    Reply

  5. J in OH-IO says

    My goals for 2022 are to be stronger, healthier, eat more plant strong foods and to declutter/organize my home. I am continually amazed at how much you accomplish and how you go about reaching your goals. You are inspiring and I love your blog! Thank you!

    Reply

  6. Teri Keas says

    Have you mentioned the brand of jars you use in the open shelves above the microwave? Tall, narrow ones with maybe beans? The others maybe have rice or flours? Thanks

    Reply

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