Leah O’Neil's Blog Posts

09.15.16

Hello everyone! Leah here with you today to show you how I’m using my planner to organize my finances. I know what you’re thinking…what a boring topic, right? Finances can be very overwhelming to talk about. There are tons of useful tools available to manage your finances electronically, but for those of you like me, who also like working on paper, I want to show you how I have set up my Financial Planner.

At the beginning of the year when I was writing out my goals for 2016, two of the biggest ones were relating to money, mainly paying down as much debt as possible and saving up a down payment for our first home. I always had the intention of setting up a separate planner specifically for managing my budget and debt repayment. I have spent several months deliberating how I would organize this planner and what components were necessary to help me accomplish my goals.

I would like to be very candid with you all. When I got married, my husband and I both brought significant debt to the table. Between school loans and credit card debt accrued during trying times when we were less financially stable, I had to accept that the financial goals I had for our future were going to take time and unwavering diligence to achieve. The last several months, we have made several cut backs so that we could aggressively pay down our debt. However, it did not take long for me to realize how much little purchases can add up. We were living so frugally, or so I thought, but our debt did not seem to be decreasing. I decided it was time to finally sit down and set up a tangible resource that would allow me to organize a budget, closely monitor spending, and create visual incentives to keep me encouraged and on track. As I started setting up this planner and tracking our spending and debt repayment, I realized a few things: 1) We had actually made quite a lot of progress in the last few months, but 2) our total debt was much larger than I originally thought, and 3) we were still wasting quite a bit of money on frivolous spending. At this point, I was feeling very overwhelmed. However, I was looking forward to getting everything down on paper.

To make this planner feel a little less daunting, I started by creating some decoration. The pockets of my Ballerina Pink Carpe Diem planner were clearly WAITING to be decorated. How could I deny them? The Reset Girl collection has SO much ephemera (my favorite thing)! I used pieces from the Bits and Pieces pack, the Big Bits and Pieces pack, the SN@P! pack, and patterned paper shapes punched from the 6x6 paper pad.  I loaded up the larger secretarial pocket with sticker sheets from the collection that I thought would be most useful in this planner, mainly the more functional stickers. Fortunately, Simple Stories makes super cute functional stickers so no need to sacrifice prettiness for function!

The 12x12 patterned papers available in The Reset Girl collection have such beautiful florals and patterns! I used some of my favorites to create a few dividers.

I ordered the clear laminating stickers for my file tabs online and am still waiting for them to come in, so I cannot label my tabs quite yet. If you’d like to see how I make my dividers, including how I create my tabs and label them, you can check out this older blog post for details.

Even though my tabs aren’t labeled yet, I will walk you through my setup. I put my favorite divider up front and center. The first section will be titled “Inbox.”

This section has a folder that will hold receipts and important papers/notes that need to be filed away later.

I love this big typewriter from the Big Bits & Pieces so much that I laminated it for protection so it can peek out at the top of my planner. The clear sticker quote fits perfectly on the typewriter page. How pretty is that font?! I also added a little floral die cut.

On the bottom of the folder, I layered some washi tape under a pencil die cut and word strip sticker, and embellished with a chipboard flower. I also punched a banner out of a patterned paper from the 6x6 paper pad.

Below is an insert that came in the planner and it has a vision board design on the other side. I actually flipped this page upside down so that the spotted pattern was on the front and the vision board was on the back. I laminated this page so it can act as a dashboard. I can change out the card on the front easily or add sticky notes if I want.

The page below originally had text on it (it was upside down since I flipped it over), so I covered up the words with the pink planner die cut. I decided to turn this page into a vision board for my financial goals. Because the page is laminated, I can change out my goals if they change. Most of them are long term for now, but I might change them to be shorter term goals at some point. I added all the décor after I laminated the page, so most of it is removable if I want to change it up later as well. I love having so much flexibility!  All the décor I used is either The Reset Girl washi tape or ephemera from the Bits and Pieces packs.

The next section in my planner will be titled “Spending.” This section has the monthly calendar and vertical weekly inserts included in the Ballerina planner. At the front of each month, there is a habit tracker that I am using as a “no spend” chart for September. I get a gold circle on the days where I spend less than $20 on “extra expenses” I do not need (not including re-occurring payments like subscriptions and membership fees).

I added minimal decoration on this page and the page next to it. I used a card from the SN@P! pack, a couple stickers and some washi. The flag with the glasses came in the Reset Girl Dashboards set.

As we get further into this section, you will see less and less decoration. The calendar inserts are where I start getting into the nitty gritty of my budget and spending. Crunching numbers and maintaining discipline in tracking this area of my life is difficult enough without adding pressure to decorate. Plus, I want to keep these pages neat and tidy.

On the monthly inserts, I used a ruler to draw a diagonal line through each day. The number highlighted in mint is the total amount of money I had to spend on rent, bills, groceries and other necessary expenses. The number highlighted in pink is total money spent on things I do not need for the day. At the end of the month, I will add up the amount spent on “needs” versus “wants,” and my goal is to show a decrease in money spent on “wants” each month. In the notes column, I have a list of upcoming expenses I am expecting this month. I also have an area where I will record the total amount paid towards credit cards and the total remaining balance left on all credit cards. At the bottom of the column, I have drawn a jar where I plan to record how much I am saving throughout the month – the goal being to save $50 a week.

I am pretty excited about this next idea I’m going to show you. I am using a 4x6 clear pocket insert to hold receipts accumulated throughout the month. I will be using the receipts as well as online banking to track my spending in detail on the weekly inserts, so I needed somewhere to store these receipts. I used a couple of 4x6 cards from the SN@P! pack to make the receipts less of an eye sore. The coolest part about using a clear pocket here is that the slick surface allows me to stick things to it easily. On one side, I used some washi tape to hold a picture in place, which I can change out anytime. I stuck a few sticky notes onto the other side.

The cute pink coffee mug is from the Reset Girl Dashboards set. I also added a page from the bookmark tablet for notes/lists.

Moving onto the vertical weekly inserts, this is where I am tracking itemized spending in detail. The vertical inserts are perfect for this because I have divided my spending into 3 categories. The top box is for priorities, things I HAVE to pay. I labeled this box using the roller stamp from the Planner Essentials collection.

The middle section is for “extra spending/wants,” things I do NOT need. Sadly, I am off to a bad start for this month due to a weekend spent with friends and family and eating out. The bottom section is for re-occurring payments like subscriptions and membership fees. This is also where I will list planned extra expenses, like birthdays or other situations that might call for extra spending. This section will also be classified as “wants.” I love the few lines at the bottom of each day because it gives me a place to calculate totals. The first line is where I note total deposits to checking/savings accounts. The second line is the total spent on “needs,” the sum of expenses in the Priorities box. The bottom line is the sum of the expenses in the middle and last box for each day, the “wants.” These daily totals are the numbers I carry over to the monthly calendar each day.

In the notes column on the right, I have totaled up the numbers for the whole week. I created a visual demonstration using a pie chart to illustrate percent of spending on needs versus wants for the whole week. Ideally, the percent spent on “wants” would be much less. This planner is still a work in progress. 

For now, I am just tracking spending for September. At the end of the month, I am going to use those numbers to generate a monthly budget and savings plan. Once I have a budget set, I will report whether I stayed in budget or went over budget in the bottom of the notes column each week. The last section in my planner is dedicated to Debt Repayment tracking. I did not take pictures of that because it has too much personal account information.

Below is a peek at my essentials for daily financial planning: a good cup of coffee, a bag of erasable pens and highlighters, a couple washi tapes, my planner, and my phone. I use my phone for a calculator and to view my online banking.

When I started this process, I felt so overwhelmed. Now that I have this planner set up, I feel like I have a plan of action and am actively working towards reaching my financial goals. The most important thing to remember in achieving any difficult goal is that it’s a journey that takes time and commitment. My mantra right now is “One day at a time.” I can do this! What is your biggest goal for 2016? Have you considered setting up a planner specifically for helping you accomplish that goal? I love being able to take out this planner and dedicate intentional time working towards specific goals. If you have any questions about my financial planner setup, please ask here in the comments or hop over to my Instagram. I will be happy to give more details!

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06.30.16

Hello everyone! Leah here again, ready to show you how I have decorated my planner for July using the Hero Simple Set! The Fourth of July is one of my FAVORITE holidays. I try to remember to be grateful every day, but on this holiday especially, I am reminded of the strong appreciation I have for how far we have come as a nation, for all the people who have brought us here, and the heroes that continue to protect our freedom every day. I love all the traditions we have to celebrate this holiday… spending time with family, enjoying the summer weather, the fireworks and sparklers, the cookouts! The sense of celebration and patriotism really brings the American people closer together, even during times when the nation has felt the most divided. Because the month of July always makes me feel extra Patriotic, I decided to use the Hero Simple Set to add some U.S.A. themed décor to my planner!

One of my favorite papers in the Hero collection kit is the one titled “Brave.” I love the shadow of the Continental U.S. map in the background. I wanted to find a way to incorporate this page into my planner so I decided to cut it in half and create a two-page decorative “dashboard” for the month of July. I chose to highlight the map by tracing all the states with a stitched white line, using a white Uni-Ball Signo gel pen. I really love the sewn effect it created!

To dress up the left page, I started with a red watercolor cardstock tag that I picked up in a pack at Michaels awhile back. I layered different colored paper strips and word phrases from the Hero 12x12 papers (using the title strips that many people trim off and throw away). I added a chipboard sticker from the Sunshine and Happiness collection (the girl with sunglasses) to make the page feel more fun and summery. I also added a gold glitter chipboard star I had in my stash (from Michaels), and used the white gel pen to draw in more of the white stitched lines.

At the top of the page, I added a title using a few more items from my craft stash. The yellow frames around the words are cut out of a card from the Life in Color SN@P! Pack. The letter stickers that spell out “America the Beautiful” are from the Sunshine and Happiness 12x12 Expressions cardstock sticker sheet. I added a couple small pieces of gold glitter washi tape, red-and-white string, and a sticker from the Hero 6x12 Fundamental Stickers sheet.

On the right side of my July dashboard, I used a blue watercolor tag as a base and added strips of yellow and gold glitter washi tape. I cut out the words from a 12x12 Elements sheet and arranged them how I wanted on the tag. I added some star stickers from the Fundamentals Sticker sheet and tied red-and-white string to the tag. I laid out the string how I wanted it on the page and then glued it in place.

The “July 2016” at the top of the page was created using more letter and number stickers from the Sunshine and Happiness 12x12 Expressions Sticker sheet. I also added more star stickers from the Hero sticker sheet and a wood veneer star from my stash (from the Life and Color collection).

For my July monthly layout, I used a 3-inch circle punch and banner punch to cut out a few shapes from the 12x12 papers in the Kit. All of the other pieces are cut out of the 12x12 Elements sheets or are stickers from the 6x12 sticker sheets.

Some more layered paper strips and words are in the center – I arranged them in a way that reminds me of a firework.  In the bottom right corner, I used another blue watercolor tag and added a red United States sticker from the Fundamentals sticker sheet, blue glitter washi tape and some words printed using my label maker. I put the white star sticker over VA since that’s my home! I used a marker to draw a stitched line around the edge of the tag and added some red string for a finishing touch.

My favorite part of this whole layout is the part with the red plane sticker. I got the idea to use the red-and-white string to create a flight path that ends with a blue star sticker, which is supposed to represent a “destination.” Using my label maker, I typed out the words “My love spans across the miles.” This part of the layout has special meaning to me because it reminds me of all the love my dad expressed across the miles during his many deployments as I was growing up.

I loved making my planner Patriotic for July! It can be so fun to let yourself run away with a theme in your layouts! I may have also gone a little crazy in the Target dollar spot and bought a few red, white and blue sticky notes and pens to use in my planner as well…

Happy Independence Day everyone!

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Supplies
06.19.16

Hi everyone! Leah here again, showing you how I’ve decorated my planner for summer using the Sunshine and Happiness scrapbook collection. I’ll be showing you how I’ve revamped my pockets with a new summertime look, how I’ve created another memory-keeping dashboard, and how I’ve made my own double-sided pocket insert.

If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, you are probably very aware of my love for decorating planner pockets! I change up the décor in the front pockets of my planner at least once a month because it’s such an easy way to revamp my planner and keep it feeling new and exciting. This month, I’ve made my pockets summer-ready using the Sunshine and Happiness collection!

When I first start the process of decorating my pockets, I ALWAYS start with the SN@P! Pack for whatever collection I am working with. The journal cards and little square pieces fit in the pockets perfectly. I try to mix and match the colors I use so that no element is the same size or color as the one next to it. I find that this contrast allows each element to stand out. I also add variety to the shapes of the cards by using different paper punches. For example, I used a 3inch circle punch, a tag punch, and a rounded corner punch to create some of the pieces you see here. I also left some of the cards as squares and rectangles. After I laid the cards out in the pockets how I wanted them, then I added the extra decoration. I wait until the cards are in the pockets so I can better judge the placement of the embellishments. I used several die cuts from the Bits and Pieces pack – there are so many fun florals and that Mason jar lemonade and fruit slice die cut are just too cute for words! I secure everything in the pockets using a Scotch Tape Glider loaded with repositionable tape so I can easily remove everything later. 

I used several stickers from this pack of 4x6 sticker sheets. There are so many different types of stickers in this pack! I used the hot pink alphabet stickers to spell out “Summer Time,” though I had to improvise and use an upside down “W” for the third “M.” I used the word strip stickers, which I dressed up with some gold glitter washi tape and enamel dots. 

I also used one of my favorite stickers from another sticker sheet in the pack, the girl with sunglasses, and a floral die cut to dress up a tag from the Bits and Pieces pack.

For my dashboard, I made another scrapbook layout for my planner similar to what I made back in April. Some people like to carry photos of their families in their wallet, I like to add them to my planner to make me smile every day and remind me to be grateful for the people I love most! Featured in this layout are my darling niece and nephew, the flower girl and ring bearer from my wedding. Here they are peeking through the pier down at the ocean…and in another photo, making silly faces when they were told to smile! I could not wait to print these photos and use them in a layout! Because I like to use the small square pieces from the SN@P! Pack to layer behind photos, I like to resize my photos for planner layouts to be 2x2”.  One of the photos was not square so I resized it to be 2x3”. These smaller photos fit better onto the limited space available on a planner dashboard.

I used the “Shine Bright” 12x12 paper from the Sunshine and Happiness collection to create the dashboard. If you would like to see more about how I create dashboards and dividers, check out this blog post. I used the bold yellow side of the paper as the base for this layout – I love the “Hello Sunshine” sentiment so much! The flip side of this paper has a beautiful, delicate floral pattern. I had some leftover scraps from the paper after I trimmed it down and the floral pattern made a lovely frame for the photos. 

I added a couple of the SN@P! Pack square cards behind the photos to add a little more dimension to the layering and make the photos pop off the page. I used a couple of chipboard flowers as embellishments and no surprise here, more gold glitter washi tape and word strip stickers with enamel dots (always)!

Before gluing everything down, I tucked a couple of light blue paper doilies under the floral paper. This finishing touch provided some contrast against the bold yellow background, helping to draw the eye towards the focal point of the layout – the photos.

Last but certainly not least, the bright yellow paper really needed some contrast on the edges to frame the layout, so I inked the edges with a pink chalk ink. I love how this project turned out! You know the best part about making scrapbook layouts for your Carpe Diem planner? The holes line up to fit into the Simple Stories 6x8 SN@P! binders, so you can transfer the layouts there later to form a 6x8 scrapbook!

Next up, I will be showing you how I made a double-sided pocket insert using the Sunshine and Happiness collection! 

I cut down another 12x12 paper to fit my planner, which ends up being 6 inches wide. The 4x6 cards from the 12x12 Elements sheet, as well as the largest SN@P! Pack cards (also 4x6), fit perfectly on the page to make a pocket.

To create the pocket, I lay the 4x6 card with the side I want to show, face down against the bottom edge of the page I’m attaching the pocket to. I use a piece of washi tape (or scotch tape) to attach the two pieces and then if you fold the card up to lay on top of the page, you will see the pocket forming.

To attach the sides of the pocket, I used the little edge I trimmed off the 12x12 paper at the beginning (you know the part with the Simple Stories logo and collection name – no scrap goes unused in my house!). I cut it down to two 4 inch strips, used the track on my cutting board and a pair of scissors to crease the center of each strip and then folded them in half along the crease.

I then added glue to one edge of each strip and glued them down to the inside edges of the pocket. 

I added more glue to the other half of each strip and folded the pocket up to lay against the page and pressed it down firmly. I followed this same process on the reverse side of the insert to create another pocket using a different 4x6 element card. 

I embellished each pocket using strips of paper and washi tape along the top, die cuts from the Bits and Pieces Pack, word strip stickers, enamel dots and a chipboard sticker. I then marked the holes for the planner rings and used my Crop-A-Dile to punch them out.

I hope you have just as much fun decorating your planner for the summer season as I did! I also hope you find this pocket tutorial helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask here in the comments or over on my social media (Instagram or Facebook). I am happy to help! Also, if you make a pocket insert, tag me on Instagram @sunny.leah, I would love to see what you create! And come show us your creativity in the new Creative Planning Facebook group that my friends and I started just for YOU, our fellow crafty Planners!

With love,

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