Lisa Johnson

Plants, Plants, Plants!

by 2 Comments

Lupine and coleus plants with bees

Happy September! The summer is flying by and almost gone. But not yet! I’ve enjoyed these precious few warm months and discovered something new. I can sell my plants!

Zoe Pritchard is one of my favorite personal finance vloggers on YouTube. She also talks about her life in Montreal, Canada. She mentioned earning money by selling plant cuttings on Facebook Marketplace. It seemed like a really interesting idea and I wondered if it would work for me.

Like lots of things that I try in life, I don’t necessarily think that it will work, but I’m curious. And my curiosity always gets the best of me. Then I usually decide to experiment. Because I have so many plants, I’m always doing cuttings and propagating them. It’s gotten to a point where I’ve given them away to everyone I know, and new ways were needed to thin the herd.

A few times, I gave some away to strangers by meeting up in a group. But that’s not enough and sometimes people wouldn’t show up as scheduled. I needed a new way to find homes for my plant babies before they took over my home!

Because life is busy, I didn’t get a chance right away to take pictures and do the listings. But then the project that I’ve been working on for almost two years came to a screeching halt. My income suddenly ended and I had more time. So I took some pictures of my precious plants, and listed them on Facebook Marketplace.

Recently, I had also started a very detailed budget. Federal student loan forgiveness gave me a new lease on my financial life. I use a digital budget tracker that I learned about from Zoe’s vlog. It takes a bit of work and discipline, but the detailed nature of it naturally fits my Virgo personality. The tracker aligns with professional work that I’ve done in my career, so I love it and actually find it fun!

I projected that maybe I could make about $30.00 in a month. But in just a little over a month, I’ve made more than $200.00. Not bad! I’ve become a bit more intentional about my plants and what I’m growing. Who knows where this could lead?!

Anyway, I’m loving finding homes for my beloved plant babies and making money in the process. The sweetest of combinations.

If you live in the Quincy area and are interested in buying some plants, take a look at my current offerings and let me know!

Sowing Seeds, Sinking Funds & 6AM

by

basil seedlings

Sowing Seeds

The last few weeks I’ve been sowing seeds. Both inside and outdoors. So far nothing has sprouted outdoors in the pots on the balcony, so I’ve tried a second set of seeds. Indoors the basil made an appearance! In a few weeks it will go outdoors. I’m looking forward to fresh basil this summer and maybe I’ll try some basil lemonade!

Sinking Funds

Since my federal student loans were forgiven last year, I’ve been super focused on my finances. Not having that debt feels like a second lease on life. I’ve made progress eliminating more debt and increasing my savings and investments. Before it all felt kind of pointless. Now I feel so much better and I’m enjoying learning more about personal finance.

I’ve set up different savings accounts to pay for things that I will need in the future, but didn’t realize that there was a name for them until recently. They’re called sinking funds. I have them set up, so that every week, money is automatically pulled from my main checking account and funneled into these different savings accounts.

One of the sinking funds that I’ve set up is for dental expenses. I don’t have dental insurance, so I pay for everything out of pocket. It really gets pricey, but it’s predictable. I don’t want to charge these expenses and end up paying interest on them. Which is what I was doing before. Not a good move.

For the longest time, I have been putting off getting a crown. I finally had it done! Since I had been saving for it, I was able to charge it, then pay it off right away. I got the points, but no interest! Since teeth cleanings and x-rays are predictable expenses, there’s no good reason not to prepare for them in advance.

6:00 AM

This week is going to be a busy one and the weather is going to be nice. It’s easier for me to get up early when it’s sunny and warm. So this seems like a good week to try getting up every day at 6am. I usually get up around 7:30am, so this is much earlier for me. It’s another lifestyle experiment, so I’ll see how it goes.

Hope you have a good week!