Hey there, Super Savers!
It’s your friendly neighborhood deal-hunting homebody, back with another tale from the frugal frontier! Now, some of you might remember that I recently kicked off a journey of self-improvement. It all began with a vision board, which led to the purchase of a fitness watch (channeling my inner Inspector Gadget!), and—fingers crossed—it’s gonna lead to some big fitness wins. But you know what? I realized I skipped the origin story of that vision board. And trust me, this tale is less Tony Stark tech lab and more MacGyver meets Dollar Tree.
So here’s the scoop: I’ve heard of vision boards that look like they belong in a museum or on a Pinterest throne. And I love a good aesthetic as much as the next person, but my budget said, “Not today, Satan!” Super Savers know the motto—spend smart, not hard. So I put my money-saving mind to work.
Last year, I dusted off a book on vision boards for the second time. This time, I was determined to take action, not just notes. I wanted a vision board that was durable, customizable, and renter-friendly (no holes in the wall, please!). I thought about using one of those trifold science fair boards—you know, the kind that screams "I’m here to win first place at the elementary school expo." But space is limited in my cozy abode, so I grabbed a simple poster board for $0.97. Lightweight, wall-friendly, and perfectly priced.
Now, I wish I could say I sprinted toward my dreams after that, but nah. I hit a creative speed bump. I wanted neat lettering and visuals, but the stencils and stickers I found were either not cute or not cheap. So that sad little poster board sat gathering dust for months—like it was waiting for a fairy godmother with a Cricut machine.
Enter: February. I was browsing the aisles of Ollie’s (shout-out to Ollie’s Army!) when I spotted a pack of stencils I actually liked—for just $0.99! AND I had a Valentine’s Day promo coupon for 15% off. Cupid came through, y’all! That was my sign to finally get this project off the ground.
Not long after, I picked up colorful 4x6 index cards ($3.37) and a rainbow pack of masking tape ($4.97) from Walmart. I already had colored pencils at home, and for visuals, I planned to use free printable coloring pages from the internet. There’s a huge range of free coloring pages out there—including pop culture icons, nature scenes, and motivational imagery—that adults can use to creatively represent their goals and dreams.
So I started over on the vision board book (third time’s the charm, right?) and got to crafting. I resized my chosen images to fit four on a page, printed them out, and colored them in while watching my favorite Saturday morning cartoons for that nostalgic boost of motivation. Each image was mounted on an index card, where I also wrote out the goal. I taped them to the board with the colorful masking tape—because I want to be able to swap out goals as I complete them and dream new ones. Painter’s tape on the back made it easy to stick on the wall with zero damage. Renters, rejoice!
And here’s the mic-drop moment, Super Savers: within a month of hanging my board, I crushed one of my goals—buying a fitness watch to jumpstart my health journey! (Want the full scoop? Click here to read that story!)
All in all, I spent just over $10 creating this board—and I’ve got enough leftover supplies to make a few more or gift them to friends. Is it museum-worthy? Nah. But is it a tool for building the life I want? Absolutely.
So if you’ve been holding off on creating your own vision board because of cost, space, or lack of fancy supplies—don’t! Tap into your thrifty spirit, shop smart, and start visualizing your victories.
Until next time, stay sharp and dream big!
Comments
Post a Comment