Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

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Archives for May 2011

Rock Bottom Pricing: Maximum Savings Version

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Have you started your pricing list? We have looked at the term “rock bottom pricing,” considered two ways to discover those prices, and considered the simple version. If you are just starting, then continue working on the simple version. Once you have mastered the simple version, let’s kick up your savings with the maximum savings version.

MAXIMUM SAVINGS VERSION:

Transfer your Rock Bottom Price List to a Price Book

By tracking each item, you will get to know the cycle of the sales your stores run.  You can organize your pricing book in a number of ways. Yes, I said pricing BOOK. To get those awesome deals, you will be tracking the stores as well as the items. I would recommend a binder or notebook with moveable pages. As you run out of room, you will want to add pages to your book.

Here are some ways to organize your pricing book:

  • By store,
  • By department,
  • By categories that correspond to your coupon file, or
  • Combination of the above.

You can be as specific as you need to be. This is your book. These ideas are meant to help you get started. Your creativity is the limit.

Continue updating your Rock Bottom Price List

Be willing to adjust. If you start organizing your book by store and then find it is not working, be willing to change to another option. The goal is to make this system work for you. What works for me may not work for you.

Using your Rock Bottom Price List

Making choices will become easier as you see the cycles of savings. When the prices are low, you will be able to stock up to last you until the next big sale. As you buy ahead at rock bottom prices, you will see a significant savings to your grocery budget.

Whether you choose the simple version or the maximum saving version, you will be spending your time. As you evaluate how to spend your time wisely, I wish you lots of savings while you feed your family!

Time Management: Scheduling my Day

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Do you have a set schedule for each day? If your life is like mine, then you do not. Each day is different and will probably not end the way I had planned. Knowing that interruptions and emergencies will arise, how do you plan your day? Do you keep a time frame schedule where each hour is designated to a specific task; do you have a list of items whether written, typed, or in your mind; or do you fly by the seat of your pants and accomplish items as they arise?

As a planner, I like to have a schedule. The hour by hour designation does not work for me. My little ones need Mommy often, and their needs are unpredictable. Some days they need me a lot, and other days they are happy to play alone or with each other. If I had an hour by hour schedule, then I might lose those precious opportunities with my kids because I am keeping to my schedule. I also cannot fly by the seat of my pants. I will forget something, and I really need a plan, even if it is just one or two items to keep me on track. Having a need for organization in my schedule, I have found the To Do list my tool of choice. Sometimes my list is written, and other times it is just a list in my head.

My Planning:

At the end of each day, I take a look at my calendar for the next few days. I am looking for appointments, assignments, errands, projects, and any other items that need to be addressed. With that information, I designate a day to accomplish those tasks. I then work out my plan for the next morning. For example, start laundry, put dinner in crock pot, file paperwork, and type letter for insurance appeal.

The Execution of my planning:

In the morning, I get my son off to school, and while driving, I remind myself of my morning schedule. After drop off, I am ready to execute. I come home and begin my To Do list of items. When my girls need me to put together puzzles or play restaurant, I can take a break and play with them. If the fabric softener needs to be put in the laundry, then I either get my daughters to help or take a break to put it in the laundry. Then when they are off to play alone, I can return to my list. This system works for me.

When my To Do list is really long, I divide the items into 3 categories: must get done, needs to be done, and would be nice to have done. I work to get the “must done” items finished first which may be pay a bill, meet a deadline, or return a phone call. I then work on what needs to be done, i.e. laundry, dishes, shopping lists with coupons, blog posts, etc. On those rare days when I am able to complete everything on my list in the first two categories, then I go to my on-going To Do list to start on my next project.

Having an idea for my day helps me to stay on-task, organized, and focused. My plan saves me time from having to think of what to do next. A few minutes each night helps me to save time tomorrow. What about you? Do you spend a little time getting organized with a plan for the day? If I did not plan my day the night before, I might plan while in the shower, preparing breakfast, or driving in the car. Having a flexible plan works for me. Please leave a comment on how you plan your day. Happy organizing!

Birthday Party: Weighing the Cost

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With children’s birthday parties, the urge to “keep up with Joneses” and have a huge party may cross your mind. I know that as a mom I want the best for my kids, but I also have a budget and other obligations to consider. At this time, my budget cannot hold a $200 birthday party. Does that mean that the party has to be dull and boring? Absolutely NOT! Here are some of my “out of the box” ideas to hosting a great birthday party on a $50-$100 budget:

Schedule the party between meal times. Cake and ice cream is more cost-efficient than pizza or submarine sandwiches with the fixings.

Create and print your own invitations and thank you notes. Using Microsoft Word or Publisher, I enjoy designing a unique and creative invitation geared for our planned party. I usually design my invitations and thank you notes to fit 4 on an 8.5” x 11” page. For good quality, I send them to a copy center and have them printed in color on white glossy card stock. The result is 24 invitations and 24 thank you notes for under $4. I could easily pay $3 for 12 invitations and still need to write out the information. By creating my own, I can customize them to my theme and save money from purchasing pre-made cards.

Use paper products you have on hand. If you purchase solid color party supplies, then one set can be used for more than one party. The bright blues, reds, pinks, and purples are the top picks in my house. I sometimes mix and match the colors to make the colors stretch further.

Research party games on-line. Use items you already have to play the games. If you are missing a piece, then you can be creative by substituting another item in its place. To search for ideas, I like to start with a search engine (Google, Swag Bucks, Yahoo, etc.). At the search box, I will type in “baseball birthday party ideas.”  When the results are listed, I work through them to gain inspiration for party games.

Make your own birthday cake, cupcakes, or cookie(s). You do not need to make a large 3-tiered cake with all the baseball players lined up. A simple ball can be just as special. By searching the web for cake ideas (i.e. baseball cake ideas), you will find intensively time consuming options scattered throughout the ideas with manageable time constraints and simple designs. A basic sheet cake at Publix would cost a minimum of $19.99. When I wait for a sale and pair it with coupons, I can snag inexpensive cake mixes from the grocery store.

These “out of the box” ideas will use your time. You might save on cost but pay in time. Knowing your options will help you plan your party. This year I have more energy than last year, so a home-based creative birthday party will be the ticket. Last year, I was still adjusting to a new baby, so my time was more precious than saving every penny. Paul and I were able to save up to have our son’s party at a Bounce House with the inflatables. The $10 per child price was worth the showing up and participating without setup and cleanup. They handled the pizza, drinks, cake, ice cream, balloons, and goody bags. The price was worth the services rendered, and I would consider hosting another birthday party there.

For me saving money is a higher priority this year, so I will spend my time planning and creating an enjoyable space for the party. What about you, what is more valuable: your time or your money? Do you find that these priority change with your situation or remain the same?

10 Steps to Organizing a Bookshelf

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Do you have a tendency to start a project without finishing it? Is it because the project became too big? If you find that you have a lot of projects begun but none finished, then start small. I mean really small. Let’s start with a shelf on a bookcase. You can take 5 minutes to organize one bookshelf. Are you ready? Here we go:

10 Steps to Organizing a Bookshelf

1.       Take everything off the one shelf and place it on the floor.

2.       Dust, clean, and polish the shelf.

3.       With the items on the floor, throw away any trash.

4.       Create piles: items to donate, items to sell, and items to keep.

5.       Take the items to keep and group into similar items: books, notebooks, videos, games, CDs, etc.

6.       Decide how much space is needed for each pile and designate a place for the items on the shelf.

7.       Place the items back on the shelf.

8.       Take items to donate and place in your vehicle.

9.    Place items to sell in a designated spot for EBay, Craig’s List, garage sale, etc.

10.     Relax and admire your clean and organized bookshelf.

Congratulations! You can complete an organization project from start to finish! Just take your organization one step at a time, little by little, and in short amounts of time. You will see progress as you finish manageable tasks and use your time wisely in finishing those projects. Happy organizing!

Personal: Driver’s Licenses

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Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

On Sundays, I am sharing how I organize our family’s important documents. A complete overview of my 3-box system can be viewed by clicking on this link. We are organizing Box 1 and have already addressed the first category: Credit Report/Card Documents. We began the second category of Important Personal Documents last week, and continue to add documents to this fourth slot in an accordion file.

After our family birth certificates, I have copies of our driver’s licenses. I made about 5-6 copies of the front and back of each of our licenses. These copies have saved me time when applying for jobs, opening a bank account, and for proof for insurance. I also keep the copies in case we are victims of theft. If I lose my purse or someone steals Paul’s wallet, we will have our license number to report.

I have used a paper clip to hold Paul’s copies together, another clip to hold copies of my license together, and then a final clip to holding all the copies together. Having them organized in this way makes getting to one copy very easy.

Additional items you may place here would be any correspondence from the DMV and renewal notices, payments, and receipts. I keep renewal payment receipts until I receive my new license. Once the new license has been received, I shred the receipt and renewal documents.

The entire pack of photocopies and DMV information is placed in the fourth file slot of my accordion file, ready to be accessed when needed.

See, I kept my promise. This discussion was less frustrating than waiting at the DMV.