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On My Bookshelf
| Refuse to Choose, Barbara Sher
(Use all of your interests, passions, and hobbies to create the life and career of your dreams.)
The Clutter Diet, Lorie Marrero
The Help, Kathryn Stockett
Presence-Based Coaching, Doug Silsbee
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Forward to a friend to join us.
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Why an Organizer Coach?
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Certified Organizer Coaches website/blog
Professional Organizers who have learned
and are using coaching skills in their organizing client work have better
results.
Their clients become clearer about what they want from their lives and
from the organizing work.
They partner with the Organizer Coach in the creation
of new structures and systems.
Because clients are more engaged in the process,
the transfer of skills and commitment to maintenance is greater.
Follow-up and
accountability are built into the relationship.
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Sue West,
Certified Organizer Coach(R)
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In that quote above, for me, the
clothing part is true.
I need options, so yes, I take more than I
need. At the end of vacation, I count how much I actually wore. Doesn't everyone?
The money part, not
so true as in the quote. If I spend more
than I'd planned, this can ruin that post vacation wonderful feeling. The guilt
creeps right in for me.
Today, I share with you an exercise I make part of my
vacation planning, which increases the relaxation and decreases the financial stress factor.
Also quoted here is Tess Glasscock of Clearview Financial Solutions, southern New Hampshire, including vacation-related money advice and a personal story about an idea I'd never thought of.
Jeri Dansky, organizer product-finder extraordinaire, gives us some unusual ways to save our change.
Vacation. Isn't that when we get to suspend reality for awhile? Sure, some parts of vacation I do, but the money part - no. It's balanced, but I never want to come home again feeling guilt for what I spent (as in the old days).
To your organized life, on vacation or not.  |
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Money & Finances - Before & During Vacation
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 A Little Goes a Long Way
It was only a few years ago I realized
how much
I need to travel.
I've traveled to a lot of great places in my life already.
But travel gives me freedom, new learning about a place and sometimes myself, a fresh perspective, and feeds my curiosity.
Since this revelation, I regularly set aside money. I make vacation a savings goal, no matter how small a vacation might be for a particular year. I space out the big vacations.
My "top three" next places to visit are on my vision board for the year. These
could be a trip to unexplored Alaska or a return to memories on Cape Cod, where
I
spent time during my younger years. (Alaska, Vermont, and a concert fest are next.)
I've also paid attention to how I spend my vacation money. When I go on a
cruise, I now know I spend roughly the same on the cruise as I do on the sightseeing tours. I like to explore new places and learn about
them, so I know to plan for that.
I love to eat out. I build that into my estimate - those "small" items which are not quite so small when you get the final tab.
If I stay at a hotel, I add in
the sometimes hefty taxes, the eating out in new places, the activities I like, and the gifts.
"The primary barrier to people
leading financially stable, prosperous lives is vagueness when it comes to
their money -- and vacations are conspiracies of vagueness. This is
most evident on cruise lines and many resorts which require you to run a tab
rather than paying as you go.
The rules are suspended during
vacation. We don't have to show up for work, we may stay up late and
sleep in, we dress more casually, we're often in different physical
surroundings and our activities are different.
And doesn't it go
without saying that all but the most disciplined of us eat
differently because 'it's vacation'?" - Tess Glasscock, Clearview Financial Solutions,llc
My Step-by-Step Advice on Getting Ready
- Decide
where the next vacation destination is. (And whose vacation it is, right?) See our blog post.
- Figure out a rough cost for getting there, staying there, eating out,
touring, and returning home with gifts! I get specific: how many meals
at restaurants, how many gifts for, what item(s) I'll buy
for myself, tours, etc. It's this other stuff that can wreak havoc if not estimated.
- And then I add 10% because at this stage of
planning I know I'm optimistic and conservative rather than realistic about spending.
- I review
credit card point programs and frequent flyer points program. I keep an
ongoing tally of what I have and how I've used the points. I figure out how can I reduce
cash outlay by using these points.
- Figure
out what the total amount translates to in savings over the year.
- Key: Set
up the automatic withdrawal from my account, a weekly amount which is transferred into a separate
account. This is my out-of-sight, out-of-mind
approach! See the vacation budget buckets article by Liz Weston.
- I
used to save my change, an easy
way to save. I rarely use cash anymore though, so I don't end up with as much. If you use cash, though, save change for vacation spending money or money to pay the bills
after the trip. For some neat piggy bank options,see Jeri Dansky's blog post.
"The
key to avoiding this is having something in place before we leave that
anchors our awareness when it comes to vacation spending. "-Tess Glasscock
Easy Ways to Keep Track While on Vacation
I keep rough track of
spending while on vacation - nothing big, guilt-producing, or depriving, but enough so I don't return home in debt or feeling guilty that I've overspent. A great way to ruin that vacation feeling.
Keeping
track can simply be: A
notepad or small portable notebook; - PDA if you bring it on vacation;
Keeping
all receipts in one place so I can see the expenses add up; A
travel pal who has a great math mind to keep the running total in his/her head for you; Using
traveler's cheques so I visually see how much is left; Checking
ongoing credit card activity online.
"My
personal favorite is the blank check register. ...Each day I enter the amounts I've spent or charged and,
here's the key, keep a running total. ...If it's Day Three and I've already spent half of what I'd planned for a ten-day trip, I have some adjustments to make.On the other hand, I recently bought a personally mesmerizing
painting while on Cape Cod. It was the end of my vacation and I'd spent
significantly less than planned. This allowed me to buy my first piece of
art with joy rather than guilt."-Tess Glasscock To contact Tess Glasscock, Clearview Financial Solutions, call 603.886.0928 or email her. |
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| How Can Space4U Help Me? | | 1, 2, or 3 hour meetings.
By phone or in person.
Workbook, too!
Need a Jumpstart?
We offer a flat rate, 2 hour, "Jumpstart" consultation.
Ideas, expertise and a plan to get you started on your own. The do-it-yourself option!
Side-by-Side Assistance
Not sure how to get started? Need moral support or a date to get motivated? Tried on your own but life just keeps getting in the way? Need education or skills while we work together reorganizing?Get started with a side-by-side appointment.
Coaching Services
This option works well for clients who:
- aren't sure they are ready to begin;
- want the accountability of checking in occasionally;
- want to organize on their own but can't get motivated or aren't sure if they are ready;
- are too far from southern NH to have an in-home organizing;
- want to establish new habits, which can be hard to instill on our own.
Coaching time can complement side-by-side organizing assistance, or has proven to be valuable on its own.
Downsizing Workbook
Whether you are staying or moving; do it on your own with our workbook. Advice, forms, expertise: Click here for more detail |
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