Plan Ahead to Have First Things First

Being a mama who works outside the home, I've found that effective time management is critical. If every moment is not intentional (including free time) I don't keep it together very well. An area where I've found I can save time and also be more successfull with my health goals is meal planning.

And I don't mean just making a grocery list.

I mean making every single meal for the week in a couple of hours, sometime during the weekend. The last thing I want to do on a Sunday afternoon is cook. However, I want to do it even less during the week and am more likely to binge on non-optimal food choices when I'm tired and hungry. When my food is already prepared, it's a no-brainer. Plus, I'm gaining start-up and prep time each day that I have a already prepared meal.

It sounds daunting, but I actually prepared the main course for dinners and lunches for one work week for both me and the husband in about 45 minutes.

If anyone is intersted, I can share some photos and some sample menus for the week. One word of warning: when using this method, I repeat two to three meals throughout the week, so if you can't function without variety, this method might not be for you. I actually got this idea when I read the 4 hour body by Tim Ferris. This is how Ferris suggests you eat when adapting this particular diet. You can ready more on why in the book (quite interesting I might add). This is what we are eating this week:

* Dinners: Either Ranch Burgers with Black Beans and Guacamole, OR Greek Shawarma with Hummus.

* Lunches - Chilli, Nuts and Greek Yogurt

* Snacks - Shakeology, apples

* Breakfasts - Shakeology and/or Hard Boiled Eggs

For me time-management is really all bout keeping your priorities in line. When you are seeking first things first, you find ways to eliminate waste and leave more time for the "first things."

An Apple a Day: Prioritizing

Although eating an apple every day in 2012 is sort of a silly idea, the impact it's had on prioritization for me had been a surprise. In a good way. If you are familiar with one of my favorite bloggers, Gretchen Rubin, you know that she writes alot about yes resolvers and no resolvers. I think I've always known that I'm a yes resolver, but until this year have not found a good way to make that quality play to my strengths when it comes to health. But my eating an apple every day, it reminds me to eat the good stuff first. So instead of constantly telling myself, "No, you can't have that!" I've saying YES to good foods first before I even go down that road.

And it's working!

I'm finding myself satisfied by nutrient rich foods and with more energy. This in turn makes me feel great about my choices. My apples are also serving as a daily reminder to keep my priorities in line in different areas of health (like exercise) as well as in other areas of my life that are priorities like family, and finances.

So, although I don't think the act of eating an apple each day along is going to change my life, the symbol and reminder that it has become can and has. What kids of things do you have in your life that help you keep your priorities straight?

Frugal Friday - Second Hand Shopping

In this quest to consume less and in a more responsible way, I decided to explore the world of second hand sales. Particularly when it comes to children's items, buying brand new and hoarding all the stuff they've outgrown just doesn't make sense.

So I went on an attic/closet cleaning frenzy and put a bunch of things up for sale through various websites. Here are my results so far:

Sold Items

* Jeep Jogging Stroller
* Wipe Warm
* Steam Sterilizer

Total = $60

Purchased Items

* 15 Items of clothing for my son for summer, spring and fall fo 2012
* 18 Items of clothing for my daugher for summer
* 1 (desparately needed) coffee grinder for ME!

Total Spent = $44

Net = + $16

I am not even out ANY money yet. I've now got a stash of tshirt for my daugher for the summer, a good start on my son's wardrobe for 2012, and a much needed coffee grinder. My husband even gave me the ok to buy a new coffee brewing/grinding system (ours is broken), but I was determined to get it without spending any money.

And I had fun and cleaned out my attic in the process.

Who knew!

Stay tuned...

Buying a Car: Making the choice between new and used

If you follow my other blog, you know that recently my husband was in a serious car accident. Luckily, the only casualty was "old faithful," our 2000 Jeep Grand Cheroke. She was given to us by Hubs' parents when we first married and served us well. We have never been the type of people who pay more for our car note that for our house note, but I have to admit I had more than one daydream about getting a luxury car when the time finally came to replace her.

It's interesting that this decision comes as I'm really trying to maintain a focus on simplicity. For most of us, our cars is the item on which we spend the most money aside from our homes. For a while, I even wondered what it would be like to be a one-car family. It is definitely possible. It would mean that my husband and I would either ride together or carpool which would naturally provide an atmosphere for developing relationships. However, since we live in the suburbs and our places of work are not in the same neighborhood, it would be a logistical nightmare. Among that and a other smaller reasons, we have decided that we shall still remain a two car family.

So the choice is new or used? We have had experiences with both and have said in the past that we were getting a new car this time around. The expenses incurred in years past on a used car did not outweigh the benefits of being the only one who had ever driven your car. Perhaps ironically for us, the decision of new or used has not changed given our focus. My husband puts a lot of miles on his car. We are not the people who get new cars every 4 years (hence the 12 year old Jeep!). So we have decided to purchase a new car. However, we will be able to afford a decent down payment from what we got for the Jeep when it was totaled and have a plan in place to buy it with cash when my husband is able to drive again. I thought only rich people bought cars with cash (although "rich" is relative) so it's exciting to know that with a disciplined plan, we can do it.

Although we've decided on new, we are getting a smaller, more affordable sedan. Since my husband will be the primary driver, I'm leaving the make and model choice up to him on our agreed upon budget. It feel nice because I'm not attached to it or the price, so I don't feel stressed. I also feel great to know that my husband is going to get a car that HE wants instead of what I want. I say that because part of my focus on simplicity has caused a paradigm shift in the decisions involving money between my husband and myself. In the past, I've tended to make all the financial decisions.

More often that not, there were not wise.

Because of this, hubs was along for the ride and didn't feel empowered. Now he is feeling empowered and making smart decisions, and I am feeling an unrealized burden lifted.

How to go to the mall and not shop

Those of you who have mastered the art of minimalism will probably balk at my baby steps. I went to the mall and didn't shop. Why would I do this? Well, I had a couple of watches that I received for Christmas that needed some links removed. I used my lunch break to complete this errand, and resisted the urge to indulge myself in the end-of-the-year sales. I wouldn't consider myself a shopaholic my any means, but I love the rush of getting a good deal and getting myself something pretty. However, it's not a deal if I don't need it! So I focused on my goal, got my links removed and walked myself out of the store as soon as the task was done. And you know what? I felt empowered and didn't have to deal with buyer's remorse.

Although this is a seemingly small feat, for me, it's one step closer to maintaining that key balance. I'm not a person who buys and Escalade on a whim, but I am the type of person who goes to Target for toothpaste and toilet paper, but ends up spending $100 and couldn't tell you on what the next week. It's the small stuff that gets me, but if I can learn to master those impulses, I know that releasing those urges will empower me.

How the Apple relates to Frugality

How in the world is eating an apple a day relate to frugality? Well, I guess it depends on your definition of frugal. Some people thing of frugal is being cheap or thrifty. While that's true, I like to think of it as making fullfilling choices. In other words, whether I'm spending money or not, I am making choices that are fullfulling for me which in turn causes me to truly prioritize.

How does this relate to eating an apple a day? If I "put the good stuff in first" then everything else falls into place, or away. The other day, I decided to eat my apple before I made a batch of homemade cookies. This caused be to start out this process with nutritionally dense food, and less likely to stuff my face with cookie dough. Priorities.

As far as my budget, or money is concerned, it works the same way. For example, I've been struggling lately with finding enough quality time with my family each day while fitting in "me" time as well. I love TV. I do consider it my "me" time sometimes. However, sometimes in the mad rush to get everyone fed, bathed, to bed at night, I'm wondering if the mad rush to decompress on the couch is causing a strain on my time and my budget. What if I cut out cable, and focused on slowing down and enjoying my family at the end of the day. I might end up being more fullfilled and still have time for myself doing something else. It's putting the good stuff (and everyone has to define "good stuff" for themselves) and letting everything else fall away. Hopefully your wallet will grow in the process. I hope mine does. More to come.

Becoming a Minimalist by Eating an Apple a Day

Welcome! This is an account of my account of becoming more of a "minimalist." As I was reflecting on 2011 and thinking about my goals for 2012, I realized that nearly all of the smaller things I want to accomplish tie into the over-arching goal of minimalism. I got this sort-of-silly-idea to eat "An Apple a Day" when I was thinking about health related goals. I read this article on it. Something that appeals to me about this concept is training yourself to "eat the good stuff first." The apple is symbolic, really. To me, this concept is really about prioritizing which (to me) is linked to what minimalism is all about (more on the definition in a later post). Although I do keep a blog related to family, I think it will be better for me to keep this blog separately as an accountability tool. I'm resolving to be frank, open, and honest as I tackle each resolution. I hope this blog will be a vehicle for accountability and inspiration. Want to to hear what I'll be writing about all year? Either way, here it goes...

#1 Eat an Apple a Day

This resolution is both literal and symbolic. I am literally going to eat an apple a day, preferably before a meal both to gain nutrients and in an attempt to avoid nutritionally empty calories by filling up on the good stuff first. It's also a symbol for me to prioritize not only in health, but in family and finances as well.

#2 Live on one income.

This is something that Hubs and I should have done from day one. I am no financial advisor, but this is the one piece of financial advice I would give to all couples about to tie the knot. Living on one income can provide an array of opportunities whether you are hoping to become a stay-at-home-mom, want to save for down payment on a home, or just want to build a robust safety set. For me, the first thing is to get out of all consumer debt, minus our mortgage. I do have plans on paying off our mortgage considerably early...more on that later. The second thing then is to build robust savings which will provide more flexibility for us as we see the close of 2012. I will update you on my progress.

#3 Live as frugally as possible

I know this is probably too vague for a "resolution" but there are so many ways in which I want to apply this concept that I can't list them all. Really, #2 could apply. One of the main ways I want to use this forum is to share creative ideas achieve fulfillment without spending a lot of money (which is what frugality is, isn't it?). I guess #2 deals more with the numbers and boundaries. Now that we have set the goal to live on one income, this resolution will be about living frugally within those limits.

#4 Exercise AT LEAST 3 times a week

Ideally I would exercise more than this. I completed the insanity work out series while being a wife, mom of 2, all while trying to balance a pretty demanding full time job as well. I know that there are others out there who are balancing all that I am and even more and still find time to work out more than this. However, I'm trying to do what is realistic for me. Insanity was 6 workouts a week, and it was tough. I often found myself stressed because I was running out of time to spend time with my family or just decompress. While working out will probably never stop being a balancing act for me, I do value it, but want to set up some realistic expectations. I struggle with guilt, and if I miss the mark, I will feel guilty. I've found that guilt is never productive for me. This year, the first series of work outs I'll be doing is Turbofire. It is more than 3 days a week, but I'll make it work for me.

I welcome 2012 and can't wait to start tackling and embracing my resolutions. What are your resolutions?