Wow! And we are coming to the end of the first quarter of 2021. I hope that everyone has had a great February. One that is filled with love and laughter!

This month is all about new beginnings. It is not because Spring is finally coming. Rather, all the festivities have ended (At least here in Singapore), so this is when the year truly begins! So everyone let’s make this our best year yet!! 🙆

This month, I’ve opted to go for a highly minimalist spread and this had been my favourite one yet!

1. COVER PAGE

For my cover page, I’ve decided to incorporate some flower into the spread. I drew a bouquet of flowers and calligraphed “march” under the flowers. Just a simple cover page as per usual 😊

2. CALENDAR, GOALS AND QUOTES

My calendar for this month is much simpler than the previous month. My calendar is used mostly to annotate some of the bigger events to take note of throughout the month. Some of those things are test/exam dates (Which is super important to me as a student).

Below the spread, are my usual goals. But this month, I’ve opted to include another category, “Job”. This semester is my graduating semester so I need to start looking for a full time possible. This means… I’ve got to send out resumes (and await those offer letters fingers-crossed). The other goals are pretty standard, as per the previous months, where I will be setting goals on my blog, business and studies. These are the bigger goals that I have for the whole month.

Next, my quote of the month is “Respect and Trust Yourself”. I find that it is extremely important that we need to take care of ourselves which is a form of respect for ourselves. And then we can trust ourselves that we can get what we need, done. You can do it my darlings.

3. OUT OF MY PIGGY

This month, I wanted to be slightly more creative and I thought to rename my expense tracker to “Out of my Piggy”. Did I succeed?

How does this system work.

Firstly, I would record my current balances from my various money sources at the beginning of the month. This will be my beginning balance of the month. It will better facilitate the recording of my expenses later on and ensure that I’m left with the right amount of money.

Secondly, record every transaction that you have. This includes both inflow (debit) and outflow (credit). In my bullet journal, I’ve written down the date, purchases, type (from money sources you have) and the amount (DUH). You should also include any transfer of money between accounts (if any). So, you can use either your BUJO to record it down or use a digital application. You can read all about how I record it digitally in this blog post where I shared about my expense tracking via FortuneCity.

Thirdly, at end of the month, let’s do some basic accounting. Take the beginning balance and add or subtract depending on how you have chosen to categorize under “type” in step 2. Afterwards, the balance should match the actual amount counted in that money source. Do the same across the different money sources.

Voila! It is that simple. But I must admit that this requires a great deal of discipline to ensure that you keep this updated. Otherwise, it will be useless. Also, it is great to keep this tracker because it shows where your money is going to and you can decide on a new plan to manage your money.

This is so important especially as a young adult going into the working world. I’m beginning to understand the importance of personal financial management and this is one of the best ways to begin!

4. HABIT TRACKER

My habit tracker is highly similar to that of last month. I found it highly useful that I split some of my habits.

They are in three categories. Monthly, Weekly and Daily.

The monthly categories include BUJO (which I will do my monthly spreads), review (which are completed at the end of each month), No phone day (ensuring that there is a form of digital detox. Although this proves to be very difficult in the digital age), Change sheets, dental and period.

The weekly categories include read (a book), blog (post), workout (I need to build healthier habits), Spanish (learning a new language is so hard 🥲 but so rewarding), job application (a huge reminder) and me time (It is so important to take some time for yourself. It does not have to be the entire day but remember you definitely need to take some time off for yourself.)

Finally, my daily categories include diary (although this has been a bit lacking. But I savour every moment when I do write), to sleep by 12 am, wake up by 8 am (to make sure that I have enough sleep and have more time to be productive. Sleep really helps to reset each day.), Skincare (increasingly important as a young lady), water (I never have enough water. You can read this post on how I keep track of my water intake on this cute little application.) and money tracker (which is in point 3.)

5. MY WEEKLY SPREAD

My weekly spread is extremely easy to recreate. I wrote the week (in accordance with my school’s academic weeks) and indicated the goals for each week for the 4 areas of focus this month.

I’ll be using the columns in the bottom half of the pages as a way to record the things which are due and have to complete.

6. MARCH MEMORIES AND MUSINGS.

This month, I’ve chosen to continue the trend of keeping a memories page to record some of the things that I’ve done in the month.

Instead of the word reflection, I’ve decided once again to be more creative and replace it with musings. Because I always associate musings with the sly smile (a bit of mischief) but still in good faith. Just like the word amusing (Clearly I get them mixed up). I hope that during the month, things may be a bit cheeky but I wouldn’t be too bothered by it. In fact, slightly pleased because hopefully, something great came out of that.

And there you have it. My March BUJO spread. I really love how this month’s spread turned out. I was aiming for a minimalist spread and I have extremely pleased to say that I made it work.