Monthly Challenge Archives - Traveling Wallet

01Mar 2016 by The Roamer 3 Comments

Why a 30 day challenge?

Hello! Happy March. Today marks the beginning of the month but most importantly the beginning of a new 30 day challenge. 30 day challenges are a big thing here in the blogosphere. They are easy content fodder. Throw down a challenge invite the readers and let the competition begin. I've seen some really good ones and some that don't quite make sense. Of course the best ones for me are the ones that rile me up enough to join the group. It doesn't really matter whether it's home, food or personal almost anything seems to be able to be boiled down to a good ol' 30 day challenge. (more…)

13Nov 2015 by The Roamer 6 Comments

Surprise! Why me? Dealing with bad surprises

Finance, Monthly Challenge, Saving

You know that feeling you get, you know when you feel like "I just can't believe this is happening to me" and not in a good way. But in a Why me? way. That is how I was feeling lately. Why? Because of the Surprise! It wasn't even a good surprise. It was another unexpected, out of nowhere, break you expense. Well, it could have been, had we not been in the financial position we are today. Emergency fund, rainy day fund, unexpected expenses fund. It doesn't matter what it's called. Every one is touting be prepare. Like an 11 year old boy scout. But honestly most people just don't do it. One survey showed that up to 62% of people wouldn't be able to cover a $1,000 expense. While…

02Nov 2015 by The Roamer 5 Comments

Capsule Wardrobe Lessons: Love yourself

Counter Culture, Minimalism, Monthly Challenge

Its November and I am in the last month of my 2nd capsule wardrobe. But before we can talk about the 2nd go I want to share a recap. In September I completed my first capsule wardrobe challenge. This year I've really enjoyed taking on these monthly challenges. It's an organized way to try something new, and usually it's really fun too. So what's the benefit of a capsule wardrobe? How many items do you get? Is it going to benefit you financially? and most importantly what did you wear these past 3 months? 1st capsule outfits, Summer 2015 I'm so glad you asked. Well start with the easy one. Below you'll find a collage of my outfits. At work I wear a uniform (self imposed) which falls outside of my main…

12Jul 2015 by The Roamer 6 Comments

capsule wardrobe challenge

Continuous improvement, Monthly Challenge

Challenges really seem to put a smile on my face and I'm excited to try something new, taking a 3 month capsule wardrobe challenge but blending multiple ideas and inspirations. In case you don't know a capsule wardrobe is a limited number of items that you mix and match to make multiple outfits. How to Start the Process for a Capsule Wardrobe So clearly we are going to need to pick our items, but it isn't as simple as picking some items out of our closets. Most of us have items in multiple places and maybe even in storage(bins). Well at least I did. So I used some of my knowledge of 5S principles to get me started. The first step is... Take all the clothes out of everywhere you store…

07Jun 2015 by The Roamer 3 Comments

2nd Go at the mins game

Minimalism, Monthly Challenge

At the beginning of May Mr. Roamer and I decided to give the #minsgame another try. I am more and more drawn to minimalism and the idea of simplified living. [caption id="attachment_1213" align="alignright" width="169"] Round 2 of the Minsgame[/caption] We didn't make it to the end like last time. Actually comparatively we did a lot worse (as you can see in the picture). However, I am still happy with the results as the changes still yield compound benefits. In the sense of now I have less to clean up and I'm never going to have to organize that item(s) ever again. When I'm purging sometimes its very difficult. I can easily convince myself to keep stuff. I think someday I'll use it. But I have a secret weapon.... When I…

25Feb 2015 by The Roamer 8 Comments

31 Day Challenge Update

Minimalism, Monthly Challenge

Ahh, its about time I pump out this update. Before the new year started I decided that I was going to participate in the minimalists' game. The challenge was set to start on January 1st, and go until the 31st. The idea? To eliminate 1 item the first day, 2 items the second day and so on. To my surprise but joy, Mr. Roamer decided he would participate too. In essence doubling the amount of items we would have to purge. Before the Challenge [caption id="attachment_734" align="alignleft" width="169"] Our closet. Looking exceptionally unkept.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_913" align="alignleft" width="300"] A side of our room, boxes abound[/caption] Per our pictures you can see some of the stuff that has accumulated in our apartment. I'm kind of bummed. I really wish that I would have gotten…

30Dec 2014 by The Roamer 7 Comments

Will you take the 31 day Challenge?

Counter Culture, Minimalism, Monthly Challenge

I don't really write about minimalism but it is implied... oh wait I haven't implied it either. Well then ok... As an aspirational traveler but also a parent stuff can easily become burdensome. I've been working on trimming down on my possessions because they really have become more trouble then they are worth. To help keep me motivated and also spurn me into action. Aggressive action! I am going to do the challenge posed by The minimalists( you can read more about it here). I will be starting January first. I will try to follow the rules but I am making one alteration. I know how difficult it can be to resell stuff so I am giving myself 30 days to sell the stuff that I think I can sell.…

Category: Monthly Challenge