Scheduling: Feeding our Families

January 30, 2014 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

The cold temperatures and snow have driven us indoors, and I love it! With our grocery shopping done, our family is prepared should we get to stay in for the rest of the week.

In completing the Scheduling 2014 series with the last 4 tasks from the Planning for Success series last year, we are focusing on feeding our families.

From choosing a menu planner to arranging coupon redemption, these tasks will help us save money while using time wisely.

28. Print and Display Menu Planner: Planning for Success – Day 3

When preparing for the Scheduling 2014 series, I wrote this article that included my monthly calendar, menu planner, and water and exercise log. If you do not have a menu planner, then feel free to use my FREE printable.

If you are new to menu planning, then I recommend just writing down what you eat. As you get used to tracking your meals and knowing what you have on hand, then you can start to plan. But for starting out, just record what your family eats.

29. Track your Family’s Favorite Meals: Planning for Success – Day 17

I used to experiment with new recipes in the kitchen often. In the past year, I think I tried 3 new recipes and have repeated one of them.

Whether you like to try new dishes or keep with the tried-and-true, tracking your family’s favorite meals gives you suggestions when life gets busy.

Our family’s favorite meals are written down and kept inside my menu planning notebook. When I need inspiration, I go to the list. To see some of our family’s favorite meals, check out this list of 10 favorites.

30. Design a Quick Meals List: Planning for Success – Day 24

Another great tool for using time wisely is a list of quick meals. These are life-savers when traffic was backed up, homework took longer than expected, or life happened.

Keeping the ingredients for one or two of your quick meals on hand will see you through your busy evening. We used one of these 15 quick meals last night when our plans to meet family fell through due to icy roads.

31. Arrange Coupon Redemption: Planning for Success – Day 31

From daily deals to paper coupons, we keep a stash of coupons handy for family outings. If we find a great deal, I make sure I note the deal on our calendar. This way, I am reminded of the coupon when I schedule or consider an activity around a meal time.

In Scheduling 2014, we are off to a great start. There will be more items added to the calendar throughout the year, but the basics are all covered.

As food is a big part of family life, I find the favorite meals and quick meals lists huge time savers for me. As the masses get hungry and time is short, these meals meet us where we are without a trip through the drive-thru.

As you continue Scheduling 2014 may you find the organization tools you choose a help to using your time wisely. If I have left off any tasks, then please share in the comments. I prefer to have too much on the calendar than not enough. Happy scheduling!

Question: What scheduling tasks have I missed?

Scheduling: Time-sensitive Tasks

January 29, 2014 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

In winding down this Scheduling 2014 recap from the Planning for Success series last year, the next three items consist of time-sensitive tasks to save money, energy, and time.

The fourth item is listed as a follow up for any new planning tools. Back in December, I shared links to calendars that I found helpful.

If you are trying out a new calendar, then evaluate it after a few weeks before you have too much time invested.

If it is not working for you, then change to another tool. The best way to using time wisely is using resources that help rather than hinder your progress.

To help us stay organized and on track, let’s add the following time-sensitive tasks to our calendar and use the reminder to evaluate our calendar system:

24. Prepare your Medical Spending Record: Planning for Success – Day 20

To save on medical expenses by using pre-tax dollars, we use a medical spending account. With money designated in this account for medical expenses, I record the credits and debits on the following FREE printable log:

Free Printable

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2014 Medical Spending Record (.pdf version)

2014 Medical Spending Record (Microsoft Word version)

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2014 Medical Spending Record (.pdf version)

2014 Medical Spending Record (Microsoft Word version)

You are welcome to download, customize the Microsoft Word version, and use this FREE printable. To share this resource with others, please forward the link to this post rather than sending the file directly.

Thank you for protecting Using Time Wisely’s copyright.

25. Jot down Library Return Dates: Planning for Success – Day 16

Anytime we checkout books at the library, we receive a receipt listing the books with the due dates. I keep the receipt and enter the due dates on our calendar to remind me to drop off the books or renew them by the date to prevent paying a late fee for overdue books.

26. Enter Reward Deadlines: Planning for Success – Day 23

Playing the drugstore game is a great way to save money if you are using the store credits earned. To help me remember to use the rewards before their deadlines, I note the expiration dates on our calendar. With the reminder, I use the store credits and continue saving our family money.

27. Select a Planning Tool: Planning for Success – Day 1

As I love the monthly calendar, I always want to be sure that my planning tool is helping me stay organized. If you find that your planning tool is no longer working for you, then try another option before settling into 2014.

Our Schedule 2014 series is almost complete with these three time-sensitive tasks added. Tomorrow, I will finish covering the last four items dealing with food.

If your calendar looks anything like mine, it is getting full. This is good because all those items are written down for us to work through one day at a time as we continue using time wisely. Happy scheduling!

Question: How is your scheduling 2014 coming along?

Scheduling: Regular Maintenance

January 27, 2014 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Keeping up with regular maintenance saves money, energy, and time. Having concentrated on regular maintenance of my health these past two weeks, I am so thankful to have escaped illness. I did get a mild cold, but no fever, chills, or other flu symptoms.

As Paul is still recovering, we will wait until full healing before changing our air filters and giving our home a good cleaning. In keeping up with regular maintenance on our home, we can prevent some major repairs and expenses.

Continuing to schedule 2014 using the Planning for Success series from last year, I am adding these regular maintenance tasks to our calendar:

19. Schedule Annual Home Maintenance: Planning for Success – Day 7

Keeping up with our termite inspection, pressure washing, and heating and air conditioning maintenance, I select months where the contracts renew or where the service is most needed to remind me to make the call to have these services performed.

20. Check Light Bulbs and Air Filters: Planning for Success – Day 21

With a year’s worth of air filters housed in our garage from a great sale where I found the filters $.59 each, I tend to forget that the filters need to be changed. By adding this maintenance item to our calendar toward the end of the month, I remember to ask Paul to change them out when he checks for burned out light bulbs.

21. Purchase Batteries: Planning for Success – Day 14

With daylight savings time on our calendar, I make a note about 2 weeks prior to look for sales on batteries. We then store these batteries in their original container.

Please be very careful with 9-volt batteries as storing them in a group where the positives and negatives could touch each other could start a fire as it did in the embedded video.

22. Face Vehicle Maintenance: Planning for Success – Day 30

Our mechanic sees our vehicles at least 4 times a year for regular oil changes. During these visits, he checks our vehicles and alerts us to any major maintenance services that need to occur.

With the advanced warning, we are able to save for those costs and schedule a date before getting stranded by a non-working vehicle.

23. Address Technology: Planning for Success – Day 28

To protect my files, I schedule regular updates, backups, and cleanup. Though I have an on-going project to consolidate all my documents into two locations, I do keep backups. Last year Paul purchased a terabyte hard drive for me to backup Using Time Wisely and my computer and laptop files.

If something should happen to my hosting site, I have a backup which gives me peace of mind. Having lost documents in the past, I learned and now have a backup system.

In taking care of our home, vehicles, and computers, we schedule regular maintenance. As life happens and I would forget to do these items, I add them to the calendar to jog my memory to save us money, energy, and time.

As you continue scheduling 2014, remind yourself of regular maintenance tasks to save you money from big problems, energy from hurrying to find a solution, and time waiting for a problem to get fixed. Happy scheduling!

Question: What regular maintenance items are you adding to your calendar?

Scheduling: Deposits, Transfers, and Payments

January 26, 2014 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

For those of you battling the flu, stay warm, get your rest, and drink plenty of liquids. With a 6-day contagious time frame, Paul has been home, coughing, and miserable.

Our children have had fevers off and on this week, and our family is resting this weekend.

In looking at the calendar, January is almost over. With only about half of the items from the Planning for Success series on my schedule, I am adding the following deposits, transfers, and payments reminders as I get my desk back in order:

16. Verify Paycheck Deductions: Planning for Success – Day 26

If you have not checked your paycheck deductions yet for 2014 and you’ve received a paycheck, please schedule a time. I shared in this scheduling post how forgetting to check the pay stubs created a mess at the end of the year.

17. Establish Automatic Transfers: Planning for Success – Day 27

For those who already have automatic transfers setup, just check them to make sure the amounts are fitting your current situation. If you need to put more in savings or pay more down on a loan, then you can adjust your automatic transfers to save time from manually making them.

18. Setup Bill Pay: Planning for Success – Day 12

The bill pay option is so nice. I love being able to just add the amount of the monthly bill, schedule it, and forget about it.

Having just checked each bill pay option to verify that payment is sent to the correct address on the billing statement and that all recurring payments are accurate, we are good to go. Checking these accounts for accuracy, I pay the bills each month knowing that all is correct.

In using time wisely to check your deposits, transfers, and payments, you will know where you money is going without spending lots of time following up on when the payment posted.

With the payday noted on my calendar, I refrain from checking it off until I look over the pay stub. With the transfers and bill pay options, I record the due dates on my calendar.

As you continue scheduling 2014, mark the items you need to help you pay your bills on time without late fees or spending unnecessary time paying manually. Happy scheduling!

Question: Do you use automatic transfer and bill pay options?

Scheduling: Keep your Priorities in Front

January 21, 2014 by Tracy

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

The best way to using time wisely is to keep your priorities in front. As you focus on the best for you in your season of life, you will find freedom in saying no more often and ignoring good options to make room for the best opportunities.

While reading Crystal Paine’s new book, Say Goodbye to Survival Mode, which is available today, I found a number of quotations that reinforced lessons I am learning.

One of those quotations was, “Living with purpose means wisely choosing and committing to a few of the best things for the season of life you’re in.”

As I focus on “a few of the best things,” I am adding those best things to my calendar. From the Planning for Success series last year, I am adding my priorities. To keep your priorities in front, schedule them on your calendar.

10. Add your Priorities: Planning for Success – Day 2

Thankfully, we have eliminated most of the activities from our schedules. My son chose not to play soccer this year which freed up 3 days a week in our schedule.

Since he was not tied to a team responsibility, he was able to seize a great opportunity to take a course teaching him how to develop a video game. He is really excited and ready to get started soon.

11. Reserve Time for your Priorities: Planning for Success – Day 18

As I have no big events on our calendar, I still reserve special time on the weekends to spend with our family. Whether it is a trip to a science center, decorating our home, playing a game, or creating a craft, I schedule the time on my calendar to be sure my family gets time with mom.

I need that time with them, and they appreciate that time with me. It is easy to fill those time slots with other good options, but focusing on my priorities – my family – is the best use of that time.

12. Document Family Holidays: Planning for Success – Day 25

While adding items to my calendar, I include those special family dates. Birthdays are always fun for phone calls, Facebook posts, and gifts. The anniversaries are special, but the deaths seem to mean the most.

As family members pass away, their memory fades with time. Knowing that someone remembers is such a comfort for those difficult days.

13. Choose Event Dates: Planning for Success – Day 22

A few parties and entertainment events are on our horizon. By scheduling a tentative date, I can remember that that event will occur around that time when I check my calendar. I almost overbooked a weekend because I had a retreat date written down as a tentative date. Oops!

When I confirmed the date, I had not adjusted my calendar. However, seeing the retreat slotted the week before jogged my memory to check the date before confirming the other opportunity. Whew! Crisis adverted because I had an entry that caused me to check the dates. Yay, the scheduling worked!

14. Register Community Events: Planning for Success – Day 29

Though my children are outgrowing the Simon Kidgits events, they still enjoy monthly activities at the science center, Home Depot’s Kids Workshop, and Lowe’s Build and Grow. As these events are planned, I add them to our calendar in case we plan an outing on that day.

For more community events, check Using Time Wisely’s Facebook events page.

15. Secure Doctor Appointments: Planning for Success – Day 13

In keeping our family’s health a top priority, I mark reminders on my calendar to schedule appointments. Our dentists’ schedule months in advance, but our family doctors’ and pediatrician only book 3 months in advance. As we all have annual checkups, I need the reminder to get these appointments scheduled.

In using time wisely to schedule 2014, I continue to add the best items to our calendar. Seeing empty spaces on the page relieves me from feeling overwhelmed. Keeping my priorities in front, I know best where to spend my time.

As you schedule 2014, I hope you can see your priorities and focus on making those non-negotiable. Keep your priorities in front and you will use time wisely. Happy scheduling!

Question: What are your priorities this year?

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