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ONE: Put Time on Your Side
By spending 15 minutes looking ahead for the week, you gain time and can save money. You can dramatically reduce the last minute "stop on the way home" trips, when you're likely to buy more (no list) and spend more (no coupons or sales).
Carve out some meal planning time -- with everyone's help -- and you'll have meals available so you don't have to think and plan on the day you need the meal. You'll catch the sales as they come up because you'll know ahead of time when you need something. You can acquire and use more coupons.
Making sure children and adults have lunches made the night before can help you get out the door on time. And you save because they are not buying lunch at work or at school. Frees up time for projects, family, business -- whatever you want.
By looking ahead a week and then doing a 5 minute daily check-in, it's easier to combine trips for errands and appointments, saving time and gas. Keep a running list; our errands often end up in groups, in terms of the direction to head. Set aside time on your calendar, so you fit in the errands efficiently.
If you need to, set aside time on your calendar to get into this habit or set a reminder of some sort. Use Sunday dinner to talk and plan. And the more weeks you plan ahead, the less time it will take. Promise.
If you can't quite find the time, send me an email and let's figure it out together. Sometimes it takes someone outside your life to see where the time can come from. You'll see the benefits in the first week or two. TWO: Money is Not the Root of All EvilPaying bills on time with a schedule eliminates late fees and credit card fees. Use a calendar, a list, a PDA reminder to get on a schedule. The more you ignore, the worse it will get. Play some music or put your vision board near your bill paying area to remind you of what this is all for.
Organizing how you spend your out of pocket cash can save hundreds of dollars over the course of the months/year. You may not realize how much you're truly spending in lunches, takeout dinners, clothing, or those quick coffee or snack stops.
Or don't even take out cash; put all expenses on one credit card - the easiest way to provide a consolidated picture of expenses.
Review bill details; can you switch phone companies to save on the monthly fees? Are your cell phone bills "reasonable," compared to friends' bills; start asking. Does your cable company offer a more basic package?
Do you need all the cell phone features now, or can you drop them and get them again later on this year when times are better? What's the minimum you need (versus want)? There may not be a magic solution, but all these little bits add up. Changing times require a mindset shift.
THREE: Make Meals Easy and FreshOn the weekend, plan out five meals for the week, not which days you'll have them, but just five ideas. Keep a list of favorite meals to refer to for inspiration and speedy planning. Sign up for one of the recipe sites, so you get new ideas in your email.
Cross-check meal plans with your schedule to figure out which days you need a fast meal because you're home later than usual. Cross-check to sales at the grocery store this week. All of this reduces eating out and take-out costs. And you get more time at home.
Write your grocery list from the meal plan. Write the list in the kitchen, so you can check on ingredients, insteead of buying something you already had.
FOUR: Household Maintenance "On-The-Go"
For cleaning inside or maintenance outside, choose a weekend day or a few ½ days and keep a list of what you want to get done. Add supplies to your shopping list ahead of time so you can shop the sales and have materials ready when you are.
If pressed for time, write down what you want to get done. Take a small task each day or evening. The longer you wait on maintenance, the worse small issues become and the more expensive. Also the more likely you can't do the repairs yourselves.
Keep your list in a file or on your computer to save time next year. Keep key dates on your calendar a year or two ahead - septic cleaning, furnace checkup- to eliminate emergency service fees.
Get on a schedule for laundry. Put it in your calendar if you need to. And make sure everyone knows it. Help them think ahead. Save money by doing fewer loads. When clothing is worn, think about: How many pairs of jeans, shirts, or shoes does each person really need? Ditto for toys. When we have less, we typically take better care of what we have ... which means things last longer.
"Pick it up. Don't pass it up." (Thanks to the book Sidetracked Home Executives, Pam Young and Peggy Jones.) Put away things right after you use them, in their homes. Don't drop it off on the counter, or on the floor, table, or wherever you are "for now." That's an item you'll have to put away later, and with this habit, you'll have a much bigger pickup chore.
And when you can't find your keys, so you're late ... or you can't find the cereal because it's not where it should be so you buy more ... you lose time and money. The more "stuff", the longer it takes to clean house, up to 40% longer in surveys. If you have a service come in, that's a clear savings. If you do it yourself, you're losing time on other activities or being with your family.
FIVE: Stop Papers from Taking over Your House or Office.
Besides bills, other important items are in your mail. Might be savings, grocery or services coupons, registrations, discounts, early bird event prices - all ways to save money if you have a mail handling system to keep to deadlines.
In your household and home business office, when you know what to keep and what to toss, you'll keep your files trim. This will save on office supplies, and on space for holding onto papers you're not required to keep. Contact me for articles or see the website.
When you keep track of your financial papers, you'll easily find what you need when tax season comes, getting your refund sooner. You'll find it easier and faster to answer questions from your financial planner or accountant. You'll meet tax, financial, college deadlines. Time is money if you're getting support from experts. |
You've heard it before. Be more organized and you'll save money, time, stress. Sounds great. 
