WFMW: Freeze your paintbrushes
This is a trick I’ve used for many years. If you’re like me, you seldom have the opportunity to completely finish a painting job. When I’m forced to stop in the middle of a project, I wrap my brush or roller in plastic wrap and store them in the fridge or freezer. I put them in the fridge if I’ll be getting back to the job within 24 hours. Otherwise, I stick them in the freezer. Thaw them out and they’re ready to go!
Do be sure and allow for thaw time. Though I’ve found a blow dryer can do wonders to speed things up.
To see more Works for Me Wednesday tips visit We Are That Family.
Continue reading WFMW: Freeze your paintbrushes …
From Econobusters.
WFMW: Finding the Time to Be Frugal (Reader Help Needed)
Molly reader, Kim, left the below post and I though it would make a great topic for Readers Helping Readers.
How do you all have time for this? I so want to be frugal and I’m stressed trying to keep up with it all. I do homeschool my children, like most of you, and I’m trying to do a pampered chef business, but thinking of quitting so i can focus more on my family, but we need the money i bring in. It’s so challenging, God helps me each day! Thanks for the sites, I’ll try to keep up with all you frugal moms, lol.
She has a good point. Bargain shopping and making frugal choices DOES take time. Here are a few of my thoughts on the matter.
- I view my “frugality” as a job. I consider my savings to be my hourly wage. It may take me an extra two hours to plan out my grocery shopping, use coupons, etc. (It’s sometimes shocking how long it can take, isn’t it??!!) But I can easily cut my grocery bill in half when I do so. Even if I only save $50 a trip, that comes out to $25/hr. Not bad. So, if I’m “too busy” to coupon, am I busy doing something that is going to make me $25/hr. Usually not.
- Alternatively, some frugal practices are NOT worth my time. The time you have to spend on frugal endeavors will be limited by the number of small children you have, whether or not you homeschool, whether you work for hire, outside commitments, etc. Before I worked from home and homeschooled, I would can fruits and vegetables every summer. Now, I just don’t have the time. When I calculate out the savings they just weren’t there to justify it. Now, if I had a garden or access to free foods, that might change. But for now, I make more at “work” than I save by canning.
- I enlist the children. As my kids get older I give them more responsibilities. Currently, they are capable of keeping the house relatively presentable. I am willing to pay one of my kids a dollar or two to cut my coupons and put them in my coupon binder. It saves me a good chunk of time and I know I’ll save much more by having them clipped, organized and available. When I was a child, my siblings and I were each responsible for making a batch of bread once each week. Making your children responsible for a small garden, even a container garden could be helpful. Keeping the budget on track is a family affair, not just Mom’s responsibility.
- Consider the learning curve. Sure, the first time you create a menu plan (join our newsletter for a free quide!) or try a new recipe, extend a mix, or make your own laundry soap, it may be a bit time consuming. But many of these tasks become second nature after a few tries and take considerably less time. As with most anything you’ll need to allow some time for education and practice on your road to becoming a practiced frugalite. Is it worth it? Absolutely!
- Don’t forget the real issue. Why are you doing what you do? Being thrifty isn’t about saving every little penny. It’s about being conscious of your spending and making deliberate choices about how you spend your money. If you choose to spend on a luxury or forgo a frugal practice, that’s fine. Just know that you are making the choice and why. The more ways you are aware of to save money, the more choices you have in what you choose to do or not do. Don’t feel you have to do everything!
- I recognize that I’m modeling stewardship and educating my family through my thriftiness. Saving money and being financially responsible isn’t about just the money itself. It is about using the resources we’ve been given in a responsible manner. Our children learn from what they see us do. I am confident that my children can get by with less income than the average young adult simply because they’ve grown up watching us make money-saving decisions. Whether they choose to use those skills or not is their decision, but the knowledge will make them that much stronger as they set out on their own. So I’m not only saving money, I’m teaching at the same time. Plus, most thrifty activities involve learning or practicing a variety of useful life skills.
Those are just a few of my thoughts regarding “finding the time” to be frugal. What about you? How do you find the time, in your busy schedules, to save money? I can’t wait to hear your comments!
Taking time to save money works for me! To see more Works for Me Wednesday tips visit We Are That Family.
Continue reading WFMW: Finding the Time to Be Frugal (Reader Help Needed) …
From Econobusters.
A How-To: Cleaning Fans
Cleaning fans is one of those household jobs that many hate to do. Readers’ share easy ways of cleaning fans, making the dreaded job a little better.
Continue reading A How-To: Cleaning Fans …
From The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content.
A How-To: Cleaning Fans
Cleaning fans is one of those household jobs that many hate to do. Readers’ share easy ways of cleaning fans, making the dreaded job a little better.
Continue reading A How-To: Cleaning Fans …
From The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content.
A How-To: Cleaning Fans
Cleaning fans is one of those household jobs that many hate to do. Readers’ share easy ways of cleaning fans, making the dreaded job a little better.
Continue reading A How-To: Cleaning Fans …
From The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content.
A How-To: Cleaning Fans
Cleaning fans is one of those household jobs that many hate to do. Readers’ share easy ways of cleaning fans, making the dreaded job a little better.
Continue reading A How-To: Cleaning Fans …
From The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content.
A How-To: Cleaning Fans
Cleaning fans is one of those household jobs that many hate to do. Readers’ share easy ways of cleaning fans, making the dreaded job a little better.
Continue reading A How-To: Cleaning Fans …
From The Dollar Stretcher Featured Content.
The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Dealing With Stress Edition
How do I deal with stress? My best way of dealing with stress is to be active, not to be passive. I’ve found that every time I respond to stress in my life by just sitting around or doing nothing, it just makes the stress worse. I’m almost always better off doing something physically or mentally active or directly attacking the source of the stress.
How to Dry Fresh Herbs We have a ton of herbs this year, as our perennial herbs went berserk and attempted to take over our entire garden. Thus, this type of advice will have us sitting pretty with oregano and a few others for a long while. (@ bargaineering)
How to Get Your Spouse On Your Financial Team For us, the real key for getting on the same financial page is to simply talk it out. In fact, my mother says that Sarah and I tend to talk things “to death.” It works for us. (@ consumerism commentary)
Best Freelance Advice Ever If you’ve ever considered self-employment or freelancing, the advice in the comments on this article could be utterly invaluable. I bobbed my head in agreement with many of them. (@ freelance switch)
Earning more money: Finding the right idea While I don’t think the ideas here are 100% perfect (I think some of the stuff he is against works very well for certain paths – it just doesn’t work for every path), I do think working through the ideas here can really help anyone who is struggling for ways to earn more. (@ i will teach you to be rich)
13 Pay-What-You-Want Restaurants This idea works only if the customer is willing to name a fair price for what they get. I know many people who would go there, order food, and pay a cent or nothing at all. I think non-profit restaurants will work, but I think it will require minimum prices. (@ coupon sherpa)
See an online job scammer at work As time goes on, I’m finding myself trusting unmoderated sources less and less and people that I trust more and more. (@ red tape chronicles)
5 Strategies for a Happy Marriage: Secrets every bride and groom should know A happy and successful marriage will be one of the best financial moves you ever make. An unsuccessful marriage can end in complete financial disaster. Better do it right, I think. (@ pick the brain)
Continue reading The Simple Dollar Weekly Roundup: Dealing With Stress Edition …
From The Simple Dollar.
It Doesn’t Matter What Your Position Is Right Now, You Can Do Better
An obviously upset Sam writes in:
You think your world is all rainbows and puppies. Guess what? Karma will eventually bite you in the [rear]. Seven months ago I got fired from my job for no fault of my own the company was going under. Now I cant pay my bills and Im going to lose my house. Your life isnt a real life.
In 2006, I did not have enough money to pay my bills even though I was working at a great job and everything seemed (on the surface) to be great in my life. My dreams of being a writer were quickly disappearing, as were my dreams of ever being able to adequately take care of my child. I reached a point where I had fleeting thoughts of whether I could kill myself for the insurance money to put my son and my wife on a better track and give them a life that I felt like I was incapable of helping them with.
Guess what? I got out of that situation. It wasn’t easy. I had to face a ton of my own flaws along the way, most of which are still a difficult part of my own life.
The biggest thing I learned is that no one is perfect, and every single person is in a situation that they can improve. Period. There are no exceptions to this. No one is living the best life they could be living. Why? Because, again, no one is perfect.
I’m certainly not perfect. I spend too much money on books and games. I have a hard time resisting a delicious well-prepared meal. I spend far too long on important decisions, to the point that I lose opportunities because of it. I get very down on myself and my own abilities all the time (truly, thank goodness Sarah is there to help me with this). I talk myself into purchases that I shouldn’t make. I lose track of routines that I really, really tell myself that I want to establish. I regularly find excuses to avoid social interactions that I should engage in simply because they make me uncomfortable.
I know very well that I can improve in each of those areas if I put my time, focus, and heart into it. I can cut my entertainment spending (and I’ve been doing pretty well at this as of late). I can eat better. I can be more decisive. I can focus on the good things that I do and not my failings. I can avoid making unnecessary purchases. I can convince myself to do that daily walk. I can go to that dinner party and interact with people.
What does this have to do with karma and me being “lucky,” though?
First of all, the best method to keep karma at bay is to constantly try to improve yourself and your own situation. Look at the areas where you don’t do well and strive to improve them.
Here’s a good exercise: imagine where you’d be if you suddenly lost your job. Would you be able to pay your bills for the next few months? If not, then you’ve identified a weakness, one you can solve by saving some money each week.
Here’s another one: imagine someone might offer you a great job in two weeks. Would you be presentable enough for them to take interest in you? What skills would you be able to say that you had? Would you have a great resume on hand to give them? If you answered poorly to any of these questions, then you have a personal weakness, one you can work on. Make that resume. Keep yourself presentable and sociable. Make a good resume and keep copies with you wherever you go.
The truth of the matter is that bad karma happens to all of us sometimes, but the truly devastating effects of that bad karma are often directly connected to our own choices. If we’re flying high and don’t prepare for the inevitable fall, things will hurt when we fall from that pedestal. If we’ve already fallen and aren’t preparing ourselves to rise again, we’ll stay down for the long count.
It is about us. It is about what we choose. It is about overcoming our individual flaws – and we all have them, and we all have different ones – and making the best of what we have.
No one does this perfectly because no one is perfect. One thing we can all do, though, is strive to improve ourselves and our situation no matter what that situation currently happens to be.
Don’t spend a second worrying about what or how someone else is doing. You can’t control that. What you can control (at least to some extent) is your own situation. Take charge of every element that you can and walk forward with it.
What can you do, right now, to start improving your situation? That’s the only question that matters.
Continue reading It Doesn’t Matter What Your Position Is Right Now, You Can Do Better …
From The Simple Dollar.
Getting Things Done: The Power of the Collection Habit
This is the eleventh entry in a fourteen part series discussing the time management classic Getting Things Done by David Allen. New entries in this series will appear on Tuesday afternoons and Friday mornings through July 16.
Allen concludes the book with three short chapters discussing the power of various aspects of the GTD system. This first one focuses on how powerful the collection habit really is.
As Allen states it on page 225:
When people with whom you interact notice that without fail you receive, process, and organize in an airtight manner the exchanges and agreements they have with you, they begin to trust you in a unique way. Such is the power of capturing placeholders for anything that is incomplete and unprocessed in your life. It noticeably enhances your mental well-being and improves the quality of your communications and relationships, both personally and professionally.
In other words, if your system is reliable, you become reliable, and if you become reliable, you’ll become more confident of your abilities, other people will notice your increased reliability, and you’ll become more valuable in everything you do.
I’ve noticed this phenomenon in my own life. Whenever I am operating my system really efficiently, I seem to do a great job of managing all of the stuff on my plate and others do notice this. I tend to see the results of it in the form of better articles on The Simple Dollar and elsewhere, which attracts readers. I get more notes about how today’s article was really good. I tend to build relationships in my life in a positive manner because I’m on top of the feeding and growth that they need.
What makes that happen? In the end, it’s simply the fact that I’m collecting everything that’s incomplete in my life and doing something with all of that stuff. Even if the system isn’t going perfectly for a while, I’m still making sure that all of the open-ended things are either being closed or are moving forward.
That builds trust. That builds self-confidence – and confidence from others. It builds a feeling of control over your life instead of a sense that things are just spinning out of control.
Those are things that constantly help you throughout your career and personal life, not just in terms of building relationships, but in terms of the quality work that you’re able to produce.
One interesting part of sitting down and doing a full collection of all of the unfinished stuff in one’s life – and I certainly went through this myself – is all of the negative feelings it generates along the way. From page 226:
If you’re like most peoplw ho go through the full collection process, you probably felt some form of anxiety. Descriptive terms like “overwhelmed,” “panic,” “frustration,” “fatigue,” and “disgust” tend to come up when I ask seminar participants to describe their emotions in going through a minor version of the procedure. And is there anything you think you’ve procrastinated on in that stack? If so, you have guilt automatically associated with it – “I could have, should have, ought to have (before now) done this.”
This is normal. Almost every functional adult has a big pile of unfinished stuff hanging around in their life. Even highly organized adults do.
Where do these negative feelings come from? Allen has a great explanation on page 227:
But what are all of those things in your in-basket? Aggreements you’ve made with yourself. Your negative feelings are simply the result of breaking those agreements – they’re the symptoms of disintegrated self-trust. If you tell yourself to draft a strategic plan, when you don’t do it, you’ll feel bad. Tell yourself to get organized, and if you fail to, welcome to guilt and frustration. Resolve to spend more time with your kids and don’t – voila! anxious and overwhelmed.
This sums up so well why dumping everything in your inbox can be a downer, but processing it can be such an incredible positive feeling and release.
When you put all of that stuff in your inbox, you see all of the agreements you’ve broken with yourself, which is a major downer.
On the flip side, though, once you have all of those promises sitting there and you actually go through the process of dealing with all of them, it feels incredibly good. Why? You’re finally living up to all of those promises you made for yourself and all of the bad feelings you have associated with yourself and all of those promises are just swept away.
I find that when I start to get behind, I really get deeply upset with myself when I collect everything together. These moments are probably the most negative ones in my life because I criticize myself harshly when I see such a pile of unfinished stuff.
Yet, with every item I process, I feel better. Each item I collect and then deal with goes from being a broken promise (a negative) to a fulfilled one (a positive). It also often reaffirms a positive reputation with others, because quite often that fulfilled promise benefits others in some way.
What usually happens is that it feels so good to start running through these processes that I almost become addicted to it. I burn through my inbox, processing all of it, then I tend to stick to the system furiously for a while, coasting on all of the good feelings.
In fact, the only time I tend to fall behind with it is during times of extreme crisis or extreme time management situations where I have more things going on than my calendar can hold. It is in those situations that stuff starts slipping through the cracks and the system starts to fall apart.
A recent example of this was in the second quarter of 2010, where we had our third child, final book edits were due, my father became seriously injured, and my book was released in a period of about seven weeks or so. Add into that a ten day trip right in the middle and I simply found myself slipping behind.
That’s why going through this book and the whole GTD process starting on June 1 was a huge lift to me. I went through the collection and processing myself as I wrote these pieces and it was a huge personal lift.
I really can’t recommend this enough. Put aside a day – preferably two, make it a weekend – where you just collect everything you need to get done. That should take about a third to a half of a day. Then, spend the rest of that time processing it. Do the simple things. Come up with plans for the bigger things. Trash the things you really don’t want to deal with.
It’ll be incredibly cathartic. You’ll come out of that timeframe with a much more positive feeling about your career, your life, and your relationships.
In fact, I’ll bet you’ll label it as one of the best things you’ve done in your adult life.
On Friday, we’ll talk about the power of the next action.
Continue reading Getting Things Done: The Power of the Collection Habit …
From The Simple Dollar.