In the days and months leading up to the holidays, money flows in and out of this house in a manner which is unparalleled and uncharacteristic of our usual ways. Certainly we were purchasing much more…justifying all purchases with the ‘well, it’s Christmas’ logic. We also have eaten out much, much more than normal because busy schedules left little room or energy to meal plan or cook healthfully. I’m in need of definite detox of sorts to get our spending {and also our eating habits} back to healthy levels!
So I’ll be freezing my ass{ets} this January! We’ve just had a very healthy Christmas…there’s almost nothing in this world that we need! I cannot think of a better time to go on a spending freeze and try to bring some balance back into our financial lives. Obviously, I’ll still be paying bills and buying groceries…but there will be no spending unnecessarily. Any additional purchases will have to wait until February! {hopefully by then, I will have realized that they weren’t necessary at all!}
I’m not sure how the healthful eating plays into this yet…only that we need a reset of some sort there too! And I’m not sure I’m willing to suggest that we can’t eat out all month…that would be crazy talk! But perhaps there are some limits that we can employ to satisfy both plights.
I’ve compiled a list of some fun free stuff that you can snag up to help you fend off the urges to spend {if perhaps you are also thinking of cutting back your spending this month}. Some of them are healthful eating related and so I feel they will play in well with my desires to reconnect to our healthy eating missions! But I think there’s something here to satisfy many wants/needs that may crop up this month…
***Free Online Art Classes***
That’s right…you heard me! Strathmore, the company that produces many artist papers and journals, offers a series of free online classes each year in their virtual online studios. These classes are so fun and you really do learn a lot and gather a lot of ideas and techniques! This year’s courses cover mixed media, art journaling, sketching, and drawing! Go sign up! Workshop 1 begins on Sunday, Jan. 1st.
***Free January Desktop Calendar***
My friend Dana, a very talented artist, has created a beautiful and colorful background/calender for your desktop computer! You can head over and grab one up! While you’re there, you can sign up for her ArtFull newsletter {also free} so you can get inspiration, ideas, and monthly desktop calenders delivered to your inbox!
***Free Music***
I’m pretty sure that everyone knows about this one, but just in case you have yet to experience the awesomeness of Pandora, I wanted to be sure I included it on this list. Pandora is an internet radio that will build play lists based upon your likes and preferences. You just sign up and then listen through your computer. I really love the mixes they compile based upon one or two of my favorite artists and I often discover great new music and musicians as a result! A free membership permits a good deal of listening {it’s plenty for me}…but you can always purchase a membership for unlimited tunes if you find you keep hitting your monthly limit.
***Free Notes From The Universe***
I had been recieving Mike Dooley’s Notes From The Universe for years…but haven’t for some time. I found myself missing the inspirational messages in my inbox and so I’m signing up again. If you haven’t heard of these, ther are “personalized daily messages designed to remind you of life’s magic, your power, and that dreams do come true!” They are magnificent and have been known to bring tears to my eyes with a message that my heart needed so badly! You can choose when and how many emails you recieve each week. I like to get them on Mondays and Fridays! I promise you’ll love them!
***Free 21 Day Vegan Kickstart***
So if you’ve been thinking about going vegetarian or vegan…or simply would like to incorporate more healthful, less meat-based eating into your life, you can sign up for 21 days of tips and recipes starting on January 1st. They even offer a 21 Day Meal Plan which could really help to guide you through three weeks of a little detox for your body! It would be a wonderful way to start the year and, even if you choose not to permanently adopt vegan eating habits, there may be some changes that you really love!
***Free Inspiration & Motivation***
Chris Guillebeau, author of The Art of Non-Conformity {a very good read…but it can wait until Feb!}, is a guy with an awesome life, a great perspective, and a whole lot of good ideas! He offers a lot of this wisdom regularly on his blog. But if you like a good hunk of something that you can sit down with, he offers two free ‘manifestos’ that I find really inspiring! You can download the pdfs for A Brief Guide to World Domination and 279 Days to Overnight Success for free and I guarantee they will get you thinking {and wanting to act!}!!! You can also sign up for his 6 Ways to Change the World free email series! Fun!
***Free Real Foods E-course***
Vintage Remedies is offering a free 8 week email course on transitioning to ‘real foods’. You can sign up for the free weekly emails that will include Something to eliminate from the pantry / diet, something to add to the pantry / diet, recipes and / or menus to help you meet that goal, a skill or habit to help you maintain these goals. This course begins on Monday, January 2nd and sounds like an excellent way to introduce new eating habits into your household!
I’m sure there are a ton more links for fabulous free stuff out there! If you know of any, feel free to leave a link in the comments. I’m sure, come mid-January when my ass{ets} are good and frozen and feeling a bit tight, that I’ll be on the lookout for fresh free swag!
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