Promises to Myself

I said I would stop making New Years Resolutions because they always get broken- often in the very first week.

I couldn't stop myself from having certain goals, making certain promises to myself.

To start off with- I'm promising myself that I will keep up with housework more.  We both hate to do it, so often dishes will pile up in the sink.  We finally clean out the dishwasher and load it- and there are enough dishes left over for a second load. 

I've been doing well so far.  Yesterday I even managed to can some French Onion Soup, and while I was waiting for the pressure canner to heat up, I washed up what I had to, then unloaded the clean dishes and put the dirty ones in to the dishwasher.  Ultimately, only one pan was left in the sink!   

It's my hope that taking time to clean up a little each day will help prevent pile ups.  The hardest part is going to be getting Tim to help.



I'm promising myself that I'll worry less.  That's the harder promise.  I run off worry.  I live off of stress.  Stress and swedish fish flavored candy canes.   I find myself even as I type this worrying about an even that may or may not happen six and a half months in the future.  Oh yes, I am that much of an over-achiever in the worry department.  I imagine if I were a dog, I'd be one of those that twitches and shakes all the time for no apparent reason.   I'm lookin' at you chihuahuas.

I'm learning to manage my stress a bit. Rather than looking around and seeing something that may cause my trouble six months from now, rather than worrying about events that might not even come to pass, I'm working on letting it go- letting it not be a factor in my life until I know if it will even come to pass.  I'm working on enjoying life and being content to know we have enough, not trying to squirrel away every single penny I can eke out from our checks, stressing that this month I saved a dime less than last month.

This isn't to say I won't be couponing- I very much enjoy that.  I enjoy trying to save money in general.  I just can't let the need to have more money cause me extreme stress.



I'm promising myself that I will finish my projects.  Whether it's the quarter crocheted wash cloth sitting in my bag, or the book, I will finish what I start this year!  I will be the success I want to be, simply by not standing in my own way. 



So there we have it- my promises to myself.
-Kristen

How to Save Without Realizing It-

I'm not sure who to credit this to- I found it floating around Facebook, since I was too lazy to make my own.

This is a chart.  It's a chart about how to trick yourself in to saving money without even realizing it.

Go get a calendar. 

Now, there are two ways to go about this.  You can number every single Sunday stating with the number "1" and going down until you get to "52", remembering that this is the number of dollars you need to set aside that week, or you can do it backwards, starting with "52" and going down to "1", so that you aren't holding back $50+ dollars so close to Christmas.  It's up to you.

Right now we are in the first week.  Go set aside $1- or $52, depending on which option you prefer.  Either way, think of the savings possibilities. Maybe at the end of the year you take that $1378 and you pay off some debt, or you take a vacation.  Maybe you put it in your savings account and enjoy knowing you have it there.

Whatever you decide to do- now is the time.  You can save $1378.00 painlessly, without really even trying. 

Good Luck,

-Kristen

Hand Soap Challenge- Completed!

I started out 2012 issuing a "soap challenge" to myself.  The goal was to spend only $3.88 on handsoap the entire year- the cost of one large Equate refill jug (64oz). 

If you follow the link above, it explains how I make my own foaming handsoap, etc.

So now is the time- it has been slightly over a year since I started the challenge.  How did I do?

 This is what success looks like!  No, I didn't buy new refills, no we didn't use other soap/dispensers.  Everything came straight out of this.  I spent $3.88 last year and the soap not only lasted me an entire year, it looks like it will happily last another several!

You can sort of see in this picture that I used too much hand soap (see the orange soap settled at the bottom?).  I will probably have to further dilute the soap that goes in to the pump until I can get enough room to put more water in this bottle.

So there you have it! If you are spending more than a dollar on hand soap in a year, you're spending too much!  My homemade foaming soap works just as well- it gets your hands clean at a fraction of the price.  Why pay $2.00 a dispenser for a product that is primarily water?

-Kristen

Overwhelmed

Sometimes I feel like I keep too many irons in the fire.   There is a case for why I feel this way-  currently I am:

• Learning to crochet more complicated patterns
• Working on the book
• Working two part time jobs
• tending to 3 dogs, 3 cats, 9 chickens and a barn full of show rabbits
• Starting a new business (I'm a Thirty-One Consultant!)
• Couponing for our daily needs
• Maintaining two blogs

And that isn't including the regular business of trying to clean the house,  cooking dinner, maintaining some semblance of a social life, rabbit shows, etc. as well as finding time to enjoy reading and my other hobbies.

I'm also noting that it has been dark, dreary and cold the past few days here- all recipes for seasonal depression to rear it's ugly head.  Feeling overwhelmed is generally an early warning sign for me, as is obsessing about money. In this case, I find myself beginning to obsess about thirty-one product sales.  Always gotta be obsessing about something!

I am thinking I need to sit down and prioritize things in my life right now, figure out how I can enjoy all my hobbies and balance those with work.

-Kristen

Free Sample of Pedigree Dentastix

The new year is off to a great start with freebies!

Click here to get a free sample of Pedigree Dentastix for your pups!

-Kristen

Free Bag of Cat Treats

Go like Petsmart's Facebook page here and you will find a printable coupon good for one free bag of Catswell Cat Treats!

If you don't want them, consider donating them to a shelter or a friend with cats!

-Kristen

Free Papa Johns Pizza

Man, these pizza deals are flying fast and furious from Papa Johns!

You can get a FREE Papa John’s pizza with an online order of $12 or more.

Make sure your total is over $12 (not hard to do!)
Use the code: PAPASGIFT to add 25 points to your account. This is enough to get you a free pizza!

To use your points, use the code: 25PAPA when signed in to your account. Make sure you order before 1/7 and use your points before 1/20.


To recap:  PAPASGIFT gets you 25 points.  To redeem them, use 25PAPA.

-Kristen