February 4th, 2010
I have this deal worked out that if I do everything on my Healthy List, I get a treat. If I do a few things on the list a get a smaller treat.
I created this idea of the last four days because I realized I work best on a rewards-based system. My first thought was that I would get one dollar for accomplishing at least one thing from my list, a dollar a day. Or that I would get $5 if I did EVERYTHING on my list that day.
That way I would earn either $30 or $150 in a month, give or take, if I stay with this.
The problem was, where would the money come from? I couldn’t pay myself - i have no money. So then i asked hubby if he would pay me. He said he would if he had any money, but he didn’t either. I thought of my mom but didn’t want to bother her with this.
We decided I needed a sponsor.
I didn’t feel like asking people to give me money so I could give myself incentive to do good things for myself, so I had to wrack my brains for some other reward.
I settled on massages. Dan agreed that he would do one minute of massage on the body part of my choice if I tackled some of the things on my list, and five full minutes (timed) if I get everything checked off.
So far I earned (and received) a one minute jaw massage for yesterday and a five minute foot massage for the day before. Today I am working on getting my entire list accomplished and will be able to earn my five minutes - maybe for a neck rub.
Here is my Healthy List: (daily tasks)
- Pushups
- Hanging on the chinup bar
- Crunches
- a Yoga sequence or stretching
- 5 minutes Meditation
- at least 15 minutes of something that lifts my Heart Rate
- Hydrate
- Take my Vitamins
- Take my Medications
- have Veggies in at least one meal
- have Protein in at least one meal
- have a serving of Fruit, or the equivalent of antioxidants
- Put powdered Fiber in at least one beverage
- Floss teeth
- Exfoliate and Moisturize face and neck
- Do one thing to Pamper myself or provide Me Time
So far this has been a very good list for me. I make sure to set my timer to go off every half hour when I am working at my desk, so I can remember to get a few of these things done.
The One Thing For Me item is variable. One day I read a book in bed during the day. Today I took a nice long bath with scented salts. It could also be getting a pedicure, buying myself something nice, going to a thrift store or walking around down town, being artsy or crafty, working on my Vision Board, enjoying a sunset or looking at stars…whatever little item that isn’t otherwise on any to-do list that will help decrease my stress levels.
What do people think of my idea? I am really hopeful this will encourage attention and accountability to healthy habits for me.
Filed under All About Me, Organization, fitness, involvaholic, mind clutter, yoga | Comment (1)
January 1st, 2010
Are there things you pay for each month that are not actually necessary? Depending on how frugal you need to be, there are plenty of things that can be worked around.
For example, having a land lone phone isn’t as important as it was not long ago. DH and I get along pretty well with cell phones. And we are staring to think that even cell phones are not crucial, since Skype is so cheap.
We don’t have cable for TV since we can watch just about everything online. We download older series’ and we use hulu mostly for new programs.
We don’t pay for trash service; I take care of recycling on my own, compost what i can, reduce my waste as much as possible, and trash what is left in various dumpsters or in friend’s trash bins. This saves us $18 a month, which does add up. It makes me feel happy to be more self-reliant, and it’s a fun game to see how little waste my household can produce. 
We’ve changed over all our regular, wasteful lightbulbs to compact florescent bulbs from the dollar store. This will save us hundreds of dollars each year on our electric bills! I’m not off the grid yet, but someday I dream we will power our home completely from solar sources.
We buy used for most of our clothes, shoes, outdoor gear, gardening tools, home decor and books. There are thrift stores, garage sales, craigslist, ebay, etc.
We work out at home and outside rather than having a gym membership, using home equipment, walking and hiking shoes, yoga mats, fitness DVS and a pullup bar. (no, i can’t do a pullup, but dan can. I just hang from it)
Since we work at home, we really only use the one car. We’ve lived in many places where we only have one vehicle, halving all kinds of associated fees.
What ways do others find to keep their budget items low and eliminate costs entirely?
Filed under Family Life, Frugal Living, Organization, Self-Reliance | Comments (2)
December 31st, 2009
Do you collect coupons, scour ads, print out online coupons, send in rebates, or avidly read your ValPack/Pennysaver circulars for ads? Do you buy and use entertainment books full of local coupons?
Do you find you actually use coupons, or forget about them until they expire? Is the time spend collecting and organizing worthwhile?
For me:
Each time I get an entertainment book I realize it’s been a waste of money for me. I never use anything in them, for some reason.
Coupon that show up in the mail I am pretty good at using. Right now I have one in front of me for getting a $5 item free at my thrift store for bringing in an unwanted Elephant Gift.
I also hand the fast food coupons to Dan, so he can grab food when he spends the day at cinemas getting PeeTimes for RunPee.com. He really appreciates those.
I have a stack of coupons for $2 pints of locally brewed beer at the Oak Creek Brewing Company in Sedona. I use those with my friend Chris regularly. I pulled them from the coupon pages in my phone book.
I have a $5 off pet food coupon from a Val-Pack, and a 10% additional payout for can recycling coupon, several car repair/oil change coupons and a pedicure coupon on my fridge.
I don’t really do grocery coupons (I always forget them), but these larger savings ones I do use.
I tape these things up where I can see them on my way through the house/by the door. I figure if I don’t actually use my coupons, they become a form of mind clutter. If I see them, there is a better chance I’ll use them. I try to only hold onto coupons I think will actually come in handy.
For you:
What are your favorite coupons to use? Do they save you actual money, or is coupon collecting a waste of time?
Filed under Family Life, Frugal Living, Organization, mind clutter | Comments (9)
November 7th, 2007
Actually Dentalmedicalspas.com, budgethomestaging.com and bettafishandmore.com are coming along next.
Dan wants to move my fish work and monitize it. He also wants me to take a look at my entire body of article work, over the last decade. I just wanted them all rounded up somewhere, cleaned up and ready to show in an online resume, rather like what Lisa has done with LisaShea.com.
My main areas of existing content: houseplants, dog grooming, cleaning, science fiction, betta fish and other fish, living simply, hiking and other outdoors activities, traveling, beauty, reviews, moving tips, organizing…and misc newspaper articles from features to hard news.
Filed under Organization, involvaholic, mind clutter | Comment (0)
