Final Check In & MDH Hair Tutorial!!

Oh boy, what a week this has been...Definitely not how I pictured it.

An emotional roller coaster at best, but we are making it.

So you all know about the The Messy Challenge, right?

In case you don't, it is a challenge to "embrace the mess", and embrace life's imperfections, while ridding yourself of insecurities.  I highly advocate this, because we all think we have to be perfect all the time, and what we don't realize- is that we are already perfect by just being ourselves.

In fact, watch this video to understand more.

I happen to have been participating in this before Kelly made it "cool"{thank goodness she has},

but I did it because I have REALLY long hair, that is a pain in the @ss to wash.

Luckily, quite a few years ago, someone suggested the use of baby powder to me, and I ran with it.

I have talked about it on the blog and have gotten many questions, so as prompted by Alana, I created a Baby Powder Tutorial!

And yes...those would be the mirror decals that I put up for my love for Valentine's Day.
They remind me of him, so I haven't had the heart to take them down.

Think about how much you will save on your water bill by cutting your shower time in half, using less shampoo/conditioner, and not buying dry shampoo!
Speaking of saving...How'd we do this week?

As most of you know, I was cooped up all week, so I didn't have ANY spending issues.
In fact, the only money I spent was getting gas on the way to drop off donations to the evacuees, and veggies at the Farmer's Market.

Gas: $42
Farmer's Market: $8
Residual: $100
Virtual Piggy Bank: $369

That means that in one month, I saved almost $400 ABOVE what I usually save!
I understand that not everyone can or will have these results, but I want you to see that it is possible. I don't live frugally out of necessity. I do it for comfort and security.
I don't know about you, but I find money stress to be the worst, so why go through that?

A short recap of my Budget Plan:

Source: perceptioniseverything.blogspot.com via Janna on Pinterest

Subtract bills and expenditures from monthly income, subtract savings goal from that, and the remainder can be "fun" money! Do you know what "fun" money means? It means you don't have to feel guilty! I wish I could explain it so that you would jump right in, but you won't ever understand how great it feels until you are able to truly embrace your frugal side.
Have power over your money, don't let it have power over you.

I have to say, even though there weren't a lot of link ups, I was quite impressed with all of the people that participated! It was awesome to know that we were inspiring bloggers that we didn't even know. For future reference, I am always happy to help with budgeting, so if anyone has any more questions or needs motivation, feel free to ask. I want you to all feel the freedom that I do.
{end cheesy rant}

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, but take some time to think of the soldiers, and send positive thoughts our way.  It's going to be mid-July before they have full fire containment, so let's just hope that we maintain zero casualties.
*Update...one soul lost in the Waldo Canyon Fire.*

*Update #2...I'm beginning to realize that a lot of people don't know about the soldiers and shooting in  Fort Bragg. You can read that unfortunate story here, and my thoughts and prayers go out to their families, and the Fort Bragg community.*