Using Time Wisely

Organized to save money, energy, and time

You are here: Home / 2012 / Archives for January 2012

Archives for January 2012

Book Review: The Money Saving Mom’s Budget

by

With the start of 2012, I am ready to plan my goals and be specific about saving resources to reach those goals. Slashing my grocery bill and stretching my dollars is great, but what is the goal – just to make it to the next paycheck? No way!

The choices you make now will decide your financial situation a year, 5 years, and 10 years from now. Whether your current situation is an out-of-work resume submitter or living debt-free with little expenses and a comfortable income, you are in control of your money.

Want to take that vacation, pay off that credit card, or buy that new tablet? Need some practical advice you can start in January to reach those goals?

Welcome, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, authored by Crystal Paine, who blogs to help you be a better home economist at MoneySavingMom.com.

If you are looking for a quick fix to your financial situation, then this book is NOT for you. The detailed process to get you in a better financial situation from January to December 31, 2012, will take focus, determination, and hard work.

The investment in your future will be time well spent, especially when you take that vacation, pay off that credit card, or buy that new tablet.

Your Road Map

The Money Saving Mom’s Budget is your road map to get you from where you are today to your goal. When beginning a 7-hour trip, you do not read the map from the halfway point.

You start at the beginning and make it through to the first stop, and then you go ahead to the next stop. Before long, you have reached the halfway mark because you planned your destination, began your trip, and followed your road map. The trip takes time, but by moving forward city by city, you will reach your goal.

Your Chosen Exits

Breaking down your goal into increments will get you to that huge, near-impossible finish line. In using time wisely, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget shows you the way and suggests a 12-month time frame to get you to your destination, exit by exit.

January – Set Big Goals and Break Them Down into Bite-sized Pieces

February – Streamline Your Life and Cut the Clutter

March, April, and May – Set up a Realistic, Workable Budget

June, July, and August – Take the Cash-only Challenge

September and October – Use Coupons

November – Never Pay Retail

December – Choose Contentment

Your Destination

This roadmap along with practical specific instructions to get you from start (January 2012) to finish (December 2012) is worth your money, energy, and time. Though I am battling the written budget and the cash-only scenario (since I do not like to carry cash), I am looking forward to following this course.

Though I have implemented most of the money-saving techniques (e.g., coupons for lowering my out-of-pocket expenses, my crock pot on busy days to avoid the fast food run, daily deal vouchers for entertainment and family fun, etc.) covered from September to December, I really need the January to May items to intentionally tell our money where to go.

Are you ready to make some financial headway in 2012? Then preorder your copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget for $11.09 (paperback) or $9.99 (Kindle) from Amazon.com (release date – Tuesday, January 10).

With focus, determination, and hard work, this financial investment can get you to your destination. In using time wisely, start 2012 in the right direction. Happy planning!

Note: This post contains affiliate links. For more details, please read my disclosure policy.

Question: What financial goal are you planning to reach in 2012? Please add your answer to the comments.

Fall Festival: Recap Meeting

by

Photograph Credit: Flickr (Caston Corporate)

Before planning the events of 2012, I want to take a few posts to complete the events from 2011. In revealing my upcoming events in 2011-2012 post, I highlighted three events. Having completed the fall festival, I promised more information on how to better plan for next year, then came Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Top 10 List.

In getting back on track, I will share what I learned about fall festival and how I plan to improve next year.

Successes

Barriers: Enclosing the space kept all the students and children safe and within boundaries. Separating the open play area and the ponies designated a natural entrance to the pony rides within the KidZone. This arrangement worked so well.

Bounce Houses: Increased number from 2 to 5 this year. The lines were manageable and moved quickly. Having totes for shoes, outdoor mats, and canopies at each entrance kept the area clear, clean, and shaded.

Police Officer: Keeping watch over the entrances and wooded area around the KidZone, the police officer oversaw the safety of our event. Having him available during money exchanges and changing of the volunteers was extremely helpful in keeping our event safe.

Stage Performances: With performances beginning every half hour, the KidZone stayed alive during the full event. Having the hay bales for seating gave the stage an automatic audience. The placement worked well in the center of the area, and the juggling and karate demonstrations were well-received.

Volunteers: This event would not be possible without the many volunteers. In KidZone alone, I worked with over 50 volunteers throughout the day. Asking community organizations to help with our event allowed our staff and parents to oversee the details.

The event was definitely a success without any major problems. However, there are always those unexpected items to improve next year.

Improvements

Audio: Add speakers and microphone to area for announcements and stage area. We had no way to get information to those in the KidZone. For safety, we need to have audio for next year.

Advertising: KidZone flyers distributed at the entrances than ignored at the KidZone registration table.

A source of frustration: I spent a good 2-3 hours designing a half-sheet flyer with a map and details about the Kidzone. Volunteers were scheduled to distribute these flyers at the KidZone entrance.

When a few volunteers failed to arrive, I adjusted responsibilities. Unfortunately, the flyer distribution suffered, and I found the stack of flyers in a box after the event. Though it was a source of frustration, I have the template for next year. (Looking on the bright side. :-))

Giant Slide: Need a more advanced slide next year. The younger children had lots of activities while the older students missed the giant slide. There was miscommunication with the contract. The e-mail indicated the large slide would be delivered, but we received a small one. Next year, I will be more proactive with the bounce house contracts and contacts.

Cleanup: The most frustrating part of the event was cleanup. The new crew came in with gusto. In an effort to help, they cleared everything out, stacked remaining items in storage, and left.

I ended up coming back on Monday morning to sort through all the KidZone items. Finding coolers filled with floating leftover water bottles, totes with soiled paper towels, and missing items was not pleasant. Knowing that tearing down will be quick and immediate, I need to better prepare next year.

I may try to choose one area where all the KidZone items stay until I can go through the items. By the end of the event, I hit an energy low. Dealing with cleanup was hard to swallow.

After each major event, I like to take a week to decompress and take a step back to view the big picture. With a little break, I can better rate the details to find the successes and failures. By writing down these observations and finding solutions, I bring these notes to the recap meeting for my report.

The recap meeting for this event was long, but lots of suggestions given to consider for improving our event for next year. In using time wisely, I celebrated the successes, learned from the unexpected surprises, and enjoyed the process.

Question: What helps you improve your events? Please add your comments and suggestions.

Organizing: Kitchen Drawers – Part 2 of 2

by

Guess I left you hanging on my kitchen drawer organization project. Sorry about that. 🙁 Since some of my favorite posts did not make the Top 10 List of 2011, I chose to include a preview day which trumped this second posting of this short series.

Though you had my steps to get from chaos to order, I know you are waiting for the before and after pictures. Yes, my house is lived in, gets dirty and disorderly, but it gets cleaned and organized.

If you are dealing with out-of-control clutter, then take it one room at a time. Work a little each week on one section of that room. Your progress might be slow, but don’t give up or get distracted. Just concentrate on brightening that corner. You will gain momentum as you make progress. Just carve out 15 minutes a week and go.

Drawer #3

On the day I organized drawers 1 and 2, I also cleaned out drawers 3 and 4. This third drawer houses utensils that are necessary, but not used daily.

   

Before Organizing                                  After Organizing

As the resident “junk” drawer with Box Top labels, Kraft Singles wrappers, and other small miscellaneous items, I began whipping this drawer into shape by:

1. Pulling out all the utensils and putting them on the counter

2. Sorting the items into piles

3. Wiping out the drawer

4. Replacing the drawer liner

5. Placing similar items together in the drawer

6. Giving each utensil a home

7. Putting away the remaining items that did not belong in this drawer

8. Examining the organized and now clutter-free kitchen drawer

Drawer #4

This drawer is in a row of three drawers. The first two drawers were clean, organized, and working well. However, this bottom drawer was crammed full and needed decluttering.

  

Before Organizing                            After Organizing

Once again I followed the above eight steps and removed lots of excess and unused items from this drawer.  When I replaced the needed items back in the drawer, I was left with room for all the straws, Box Tops labels, and Kraft Singles wrappers. 🙂

Leftover Items from Drawer #3 for Drawer #4

The rest of the items were donated, trashed, or put away, i.e., the extra hand towels placed with the linens in my half bathroom downstairs.

Leftover items from Drawer #4

When all the extra items from these drawers were removed and the remaining items neatly organized in the drawers, I could easily find the utensil needed. No longer did I need to sift through the cutter. As I spent less than an hour to organize these four drawers, I rid our home of clutter while using time wisely. Now, I am ready to tackle more clutter in my home. Welcome January and 2012!

Question: What household organizational project are you choosing to start this week? Please add your answer to the comments.

Personal Insurance: Privacy Policies and Travel Insurance

by

Welcome 2012! With the arrival of a new year and a new month, I celebrated this afternoon by decluttering, cleaning, and re-organizing my dining room. Love to start the new year off getting organized. If you are setting goals to get organized this year, then Using Time Wisely is your ally.

On Sundays, I highlight an area of document organization. Having covered in 2011 Box 1, which has credit cards/credit reports and scores, personal, home ownership, and vehicle documents, we continue our insurance document organization housed in Box 2. This series reveals my organizational system. Please adjust and adapt this system to meet your needs. Finding a home for all those documents will make retrieving them a snap.

Thus far in Box 2, our first category, personal insurance, resides in the first file opening. In my file, the summary page, annual enrollment reports, and former severance package fill most of this first file slot. The next two sets of documents are privacy policies and travel insurance documentation.

Privacy Policies

At one point, I housed all the privacy policies from all the insurance companies in this file. But as we have added policies, I found that keeping the privacy notices with the insurance policies is the best use of my time. I do not need to search two different file folders (one for the policy and one for the privacy notice) when I need these documents.

With all the other privacy policies with their associated insurance policies, I have one privacy policy that remains: the health insurance program for South Carolina. This state agency does not write any insurance policies, but they are the administrator of our group insurance policies. Keeping their privacy policy documentation housed in this file with the annual enrollment documentation works for me.

Travel Insurance

As holders of Visa credit cards (Yes, I use credit cards for 90% of my purchases and pay off those amounts each month!), we receive worldwide automatic travel accident and baggage delay insurance when we pay for our flights with our Visa credit card.

Visa sent us the Description of Coverage which outlines the plan, eligibility, cost, beneficiary, benefits, exclusions, and effective date. In the event I need to file a claim, I can find the information quickly from the documentation, kept safe in this file.

In keeping my family’s personal insurance documents organized, I have placed the privacy policy and travel insurance documentation behind the former severance package paperwork. In continuing this series next week (without anymore Top 10 interruptions), I will complete this first category in Box 2.

Keep plugging along. By breaking down your goals to little sections, you will get there. Choose to organize one file this week. Work on a new one next week. Within a few weeks, you will have a category complete. You can do it! Happy organizing!