Wednesday's Productivity

Here's today's to do list:

- Go to the office - DONE
- Attend colleague's retirement function - DONE
- Bank - DONE
- Pharmacy - DONE

- Water the front garden - DONE
- Call neighbor - DONE

- Tidy/clean the living room (DONE) & dining room

- Put away laundry from yesterday - DONE

- Do another load of laundry
- Go through today's mail & weekly grocery ads - DONE

At first, I felt I hadn't been as productive as I had planned to be, but now that I have listed every thing I did do, I see that it is not too shabby.  I didn't do the dining room and I didn't do a load of laundry, but that's OK.  I'll just put them on tomorrow's list.  I don't have as much time and energy on work days.  They are long enough as it is, since I am at the office for 9 hours plus an hour long commute each way.  I need to learn to pace myself!

How did your day go?  Were you able to accomplish all what you had planned for today?

Tuesday's To Do List

I had another day off from work, today, which was lovely.  I woke up early enough so I could call daughter to wake her up on her first day of classes, but she was up, already.  Then, I had a cup of coffee and went on-line for awhile.  Then, I made my to do list for today:

- Call the pharmacy to request a medication refill - DONE

- Put away last night's laundry - DONE

- Clean the bathtub - DONE

- Fix the back door handle - DONE

- Go to the library to exchange books - DONE

- Put gas to the car - DONE

- Go to the hardware store to buy WD40 - DONE

- Look at fruit trees while I was at the hardware store (in their garden supplies section - I want to buy a replacement peach tree) - DONE

- Pick oranges from the garden - DONE

- Change my bed sheets - DONE

- Wash another load of laundry - DONE

- Do some filing - DONE

- Watch President Obama's State of the Union address - DONE

- Call my friend - DONE 

- Video chat with daughter - DONE

I even managed to get a short nap in the afternoon!

On the To Do list for tomorrow:

- Go to the office

- Water the front garden

- Tidy/clean the living room & dining room

- Put away laundry from today

- Do another load of laundry

How was your day?  Did you have a productive day?  Were you able to get most of your to do list done?

Coming Home

Today, I came back home after accompanying daughter back to Berkeley and spending the extended weekend with her.

  We flew up to Berkeley together on Thursday and I flew back home, today.  Of course, she could have flown back up by herself, but going up with her was a way to spend a little more time together and an opportunity for a mini vacation of sorts for me.  For when I am up there with her, I don't have the pressure to do anything other than a little cooking for her and doing the dishes (which she doesn't like doing, but I don't mind doing).  Whereas, when I am home, it's hard for me to relax without feeling guilty that I am not doing the 101 things I should be doing, or could be doing!  Like cleaning, tidying, laundry, filing, etc.

Daughter accompanied me to the airport and I admit, it was hard for us to say goodbye.  But she had lined up a few pleasant tasks to do after she left me at the airport, including picking up her Christmas/New Year gift from me, so her return to her apartment alone was not too sad for her.

I had an extra long wait at the airport due to my flight being delayed due to mechanical problems, but I'd rather wait 3 hours in the airport until the plane was fixed than fly in a defective plane!  The flight, it self, was uneventful.

A friend of mine came with her daughters to pick me up from the airport and brought me home.  They also brought me dinner, which was very thoughtful and kind of them.  I am blessed by such lovely friends! 

I was tired by the time I got home, but I checked the mail, cleaned the litter boxes, fed the cats, took the trash cans to the curb for trash collection tomorrow, started the car since it hadn't been started for 4 days, aired the house, and called a friend to check on her (she had been sick over the weekend).  I still need to unpack and put things away, do laundry, etc. 

All too soon it will be time to return to work, but I'm grateful for my mini vacation.

Do you take mini vacations?  Do you go away for an extended weekend?  

A Penny Saved...

Is a penny earned, according to the old saying.  Saving money is not always easy and sometimes, all we can save are pennies.  But each penny saved is one less penny being spent and, over time, those saved pennies add up.

I have lived fairly frugally most of my life and, as such, I do many frugal things as a matter of course over the week, each week, which save money.  Some things have become such habits that I don't even think about them, but they all contribute towards saving money on a weekly basis.  I think a periodic review will be helpful to see what I already do and what else I can do.

So, here is a review of my penny saving activities this past week:

- I had my morning coffee and evening tea at home; I know some of my office colleagues buy a daily coffee or tea which, at minimum, costs $1a cup.
- I took breakfasts from home; some colleagues buy muffins or bagels for breakfast, which cost $2 or more.  
- I took lunch from home every day to the office; again, some colleagues buy lunch daily, which usually costs around $7.

Just those 3 things save me $10 per day, or $50 per work week.

- I used coupons to get good bargains when I grocery shopped, including two cans of tuna for $.02 per can, a box of free cereal, and a dozen free eggs.

- I picked oranges and lemons from the garden, which I shared with a friend, as well.

- I hung up all laundry to air dry, instead of using the dryer.

- I used material I had on hand to make a thank you card, instead of buying a card.
- I took my reusable bags when I went shopping for groceries, etc., and avoided paying $.10 per bag for paper bags.
- I stayed behind in daughter's apartment, instead of accompanying daughter when she went grocery shopping, and saved $2.10 bus fare each way (she has a bus pass, the cost of which is included in her tuition and fees).

Of course, I had quite a few expenses, too, last week.  But what is important is to remember that my expenses would have been greater if I hadn't saved a few pennies by doing a few frugal things during the week.  A penny saved is a penny gained.

Do you regularly do things that save you money?  Did you do any penny saving things last week?  Please share what you did.



  

A Relaxed Saturday

Usually, Saturdays are busy days for me.  It's when I run errands, do the weekly grocery shopping, clean the house, do laundry, etc.

This weekend, however, I've spent a relaxed Saturday.  I slept in, spent a lot of time playing on the computer and going on-line, and watched some favorite cooking programs on TV.  I made a flan, cooked a shrimp curry, cooked a meatball curry and did the dishes.  In the afternoon, I did a bit of shopping at the dollar store and in the evening, I wrote to a friend.  But, for the most part, I had a very relaxed day.  It felt wonderful to have a day when I could relax and recharge my batteries.

How was your Saturday?  Was it busy with housework, etc.?  Or did you have the opportunity to relax?

Daughter's Grocery Shopping

My daughter went grocery shopping today, after returning to Berkeley.  Afterwards, she was excited to show her receipt to me.  Back in July and August, when she was getting ready to start living on her own, she had asked me to help set a price book,  grocery budget, household budgets, etc.  She has done well with keeping to a budget, so far.

Today, she bought:
1 gallon milk, reg. price $4.99; sale price = $2.79
64 oz. apple juice, reg. price $3.99; sale price $1.67; with $1 off coupon = $.67
1 box cold cereal, reg. price $4.29; sale price = $1.88
1 box cold cereal, reg. price $4.49; sale price = $1.67
1 box of instant oatmeal variety packets, reg. price $4.99; sale price = $1.67
1 box cookies, reg. price $3.49; sale price $1.67; with $.50 off coupon = $1.17
1 bottle ginger ale; reg. price $2.67, with $1.79 coupon = $.88 + $.10 redemption value
4 frozen pot pies; reg. price $8.99; sale price = $6.99
1 yogurt; reg. price $1.19; sale price = $1
1 loaf bread = $1.99
1 8-oz. pkg. cold cuts = $2.99
bananas, reg. price $1.45/lb, on sale @ $.61/lb = $1.12
1 cucumber, reg. price $1; on sale = $.89
1 avocado, reg. price $1.50; on sale = $.95

Total spent = $26.85

According to the receipt, with sales and coupons, she saved a total of $21.36 or 44%

Some of the items she bought (like the cereal) are stock up items bought because they were on sale or she had coupons; some will be for easy lunches during the week; the frozen pot pies will be for those nights when she doesn't want to cook dinner.

But I think she's doing well, with her grocery shopping and budget, don't you?

Midway Through January

It's January 15th already!  Already halfway through the month!

Since I didn't get around to doing a month-end balance wheel review for December, I think I shall do a mid-month review for January.   

Spirituality: 10; Well plumped; stayed the same since November's review; attended December's monthly prayer meeting and held my annual year-end almsgiving; attended the January monthly prayer meeting last weekend.

Environment: 7; Needs plumping!  I got the house cleaned and tidied in time for the almsgiving, but then, since I got ill, didn't keep it maintained.  Need to continue with decluttering and cleaning.

DD: 10; Nicely plumped! She was home for over one month over the holidays and we've both enjoyed spending time together.

Family: 9;  Also well plumped. Had several opportunities for family interaction over the holidays. 

Friends: 9; Again, well plumped, with many get togethers with friends over the holidays.

Career: 9; Had been rather stressful, but I met all my deadlines and my supervisors are happy with my productivity. 

Finances: 8; I managed to keep to my budgeted amounts over the holidays and I paid one or two major bills (home and earthquake insurance at the end of December; daughter's spring semester tuition and fees in January) as well as regular monthly expenses.  I am continuing to keep an eye over finances to minimize expenses.

Health: 4; it went down since November's review because I fell ill in December and I've had a relapse in January.  This is definitely a spoke that needs improvement.

Leisure/Crafts/Hobbies: 7; I was able to take some vacation time over the holidays and I've relaxed playing computer games during the evenings.

Time Management: 6; I get things done in a timely manner, but I feel I am not managing my time as well as I should.

So, that's my mid-January review of my Balance Wheel.  It's a little wobbly with some spokes being well plumped and others, such as Health and Time Management, needing lots of plumping.

Have you tried doing a Balance Wheel?  How balanced would you say your life is?