Last month was a blur—this month will be, too. Cleaning out my desk and packing up my things last week, I stumbled upon some artifacts excavated from various workday notebooks from the past two years.

Adam and I hit the ground running in January, meeting the promise of the New Year with renewed grit and determination. We are back on track.

This month was one of those mentally draining, down-in-the-dumps months. It was full of impulse purchases and lack of any motivation whatsoever to try to cut back or be frugal.

March was rough in places, but we wrangled ourselves back together and fought for good things.

December—the end of the year, encroaching darkness. Adam and I worked a lot and nestled when we could.

Last month, Adam and I embarked on a journey to save up $10,000 by the time our lease ends next May so we can finally fulfill our longstanding dream of moving away from Atlanta.

In February, Adam and I saved $900 for a total savings of $3,500.

November was kind of a failure. Nevertheless, I feel like I’m starting to swim into a current instead of aimlessly treading water and it feels really good.

When Adam and I began dating two years ago, we were each already planning to leave Atlanta. I wanted to teach English abroad after I graduated, and he wanted to move back to New York City, where he’d lived for a handful of years in his early twenties. After a summer of dating, late in August, he asked me to change my plans.