All about the basics.

Sometimes it is CRUCIAL to go back to the basics. They are "basics" afterall, but sometimes those are the easiest things to forget.

1. Keep track of every dime you spend.

You can do this by using the envelope system, by keeping a notebook with you at ALL times and keeping up with every transcraction, or by using an online site to help keep you on track. Either way, keeping track is ESSENTIAL.

2. Keep lists.

I know that it's fun to make a random stop by the mall, or visit ebay "just to browse", of course, but that can get you in trouble. If you don't keep LISTS, then you will spend unnecessary money. Keep a list of your clothes. Your kids clothes. Your shoes. Your stockpile. ANYTHING that you own... keep track of it. If you don't keep ongoing lists of things you have then you just may stop by the store and end up buying something you ALREADY had. When we have lots of STUFF, we tend to forget what we have. I know I can't possibly be the only one that has been so pumped to get a new black pair of heels only to go home and realize that I already had 3 pair... keep lists!

3. Keep going to your checkups.

Just like when you are sick and the doctor tells you to come back in a week, the same rules apply to finances and our stuff. We HAVE to go back for checkups. We HAVE to take the time to look through our financial statements, our envelopes, our closets, etc. It's not a "one and done" kinda process... it is a PROCESS which means it is ongoing.

Just some tips for a tune-up.

how did you do?

Free months!

I often write about my free months at my other blog....
www.thebargainhuntingmommy.blogspot.com

But I am choosing to write about it here as well. :)

Free months. What are those? Let me explain

It is a month when you spend NO money outside of your already prepared budget.

It is a time for many things. It's a time to save money. (obviously) It's a time to meditate, pray, and ponder on what you REALLY want out of life. It's a time to ponder what your wants/needs REALLY are. It's so easy to think how badly you WANT something when you are walking through the mall. But what if you could NOT go to the mall? Would your wants be less? It's a time to really stop and think about what you want to spend your money on.

It's also a time to learn contentment. It's a time when you KNOW that you cannot spend money so it forces you (in a good way) to be happy with you already have. It's a time to read more. It's a time to journal. It's a time to finish projects around the house because you are NOT going to the store, you are not running to grab a movie. It's a time to be at your house more and focus more on your family. SUCH a refreshing time.

It's also time of purging! When you cannot buy anything you tend to walk around and notice how much stuff you already have! it's a great time to clean out those closets and cabinets. It's a time to clean out your DVR! My goodness, I cannot be the only person on the face of the earth that has 87 things taped on my DVR. Shows and movies that I just HAD to tape, and haven't even watched. Since you won't be going to rent movies or go to the movie theatre it forces you to clean out your DVR!

I am getting ready for round 3 of not spending any money for a month. This means I have to have some things in order. This means that when I say "I'm not going to spend any money outside of my budget", that I have to have a ROCK SOLID BUDGET in ORDER! This is so important. It's important even if you are not having a zero spending month... it's crucial! I need to sit down with my already written budget and do some thinking. Is there anything I have left out of my budget? did I allow for gas? Did I allow enough in my food budget? It's a great time to get things in order.

I encourage everyone to have a FREE MONTH! A ZERO SPENDING MONTH! I think this is so crucial! And, it's fulfilling. i have never ended a free month and thought "WHEW i'm glad that's over!" It's more like when lent is over and you can finally have potatoes (thats what I always give up), I don't rush out to go grab a potatoe. It's just nice to know that i CAN have them if I want them. I promise it would be worth it!! :)

Thanks for reading. Comments, emails, are always welcome.

cararoxanne02@aol.com

Quote for the day

If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.

Amen. :)

SUPER busy these days!

I apologize for the neglect to this blog lately. Truthfully, I have neglected ALL writing.

It hasn't been intentional, I just literally have been THAT busy. Did I mention my upcoming surgery? If not, check out my other blogs to get filled in.

www.jereandcara.blogspot.com
www.thebargainhuntingmommy.blogspot.com

Anyway, YES I have been busy. This time of year is crazy with the school year winding down for my daughter AND for myself (let's not forget that on top of EVERYTHING I have going on I decided to go BACK to school. SHEESH). Works been nuts, schools been crazy, and I have all sorts of other commitments that take up a lot of time.

But one thing I have been SUPER DUPER busy with lately is getting rid of STUFF!

I found out there was a family in our town that lost everything in a fire. So I went through all of my cabinets and closets to find items that I could donate. Sheets, pots and pans, towels, etc. That REALLY got me thinking about getting rid of more. So I set out on a journey through my house :)

I have recently taken over 100 items (clothing and shoes) to consignment. I have a good bit of money waiting on me there :) But at this time I don't need anything so I am letting it stay right where it belongs. No sense in putting it in my wallet. Then i'll spend on something silly! I cleaned out my closet, my daughters closet, guest rooms, coat closet... I went through it ALL! I feel so refreshed!!!!!

The items that are left in my closet made the cut. They weren't things that I needed or wanted to get rid of . It's OK to keep something just because you want it. That's fine. no one ever said to get rid of something that you WANTED to keep. That would be silly... and also, don't get rid of something that you might actually need!

I was reading on my favorite blog (becomingminimalist.com) the other day and his guest poster that day mentioned that she at one point got rid of things that she ended up having to buy AGAIN. How silly! But if we aren't careful and we get on a war path of clearing out our houses we will do that.

So be careful there.

Bottom line--life is crazy busy and we are making it! But in my spare time of decluttering my life. Which frankly, makes life SO much better.

Live great with less.

It's an easy trap!

While I am VERY pleased with my new lifestyle of living on less and NOT having to have everything in sight, there are still these traps that get me. :) It happens to all of us... so there's no point in pretending that I have it all together. Let's be honest here...

I love pinterest.com. i am SO in love with it. I love seeing the cute outfits, shoes, recipes, shoes, fun ideas for kids, shoes... you get the idea. But the crafty stuff is what gets me. I see all of these great ideas and I SO want to do them. I get super excited and make my Michael's and Hobby Lobby lists and then I stop. I realize I am in ... THE TRAP! The trap that makes me want. So i literally have to walk around my house and look at all of the cool things on my wall. All of the neat decorations I have. Don't get me wrong... doing crafts and wanting a cute house are NOT bad things. But for me, well, sometimes I need a reminder that I DON'T need these things. Or at least not now.

I am trying something new... I am keeping a "want list" of things that I want for my daughter, my husband, for me, for the house, for the car... whatever it is! I am keeping a LIST. It's like making a Christmas list year round. :) The best part it is that while I am making this list, I am not buying any of it just yet. I've heard it said (and cannot quote it perfectly) that if you want something, don't buy it, wait 24 hours. I am taking a little bit further. I am writing down all the cute items I want for my house (as an example) and doing nothing with them. Two days later i see something cute in a magazine that I like better. BOY am I glad I hadn't bought anything just yet! By keeping up with what I WANT, I am able to decide which ones I will actually purchase or make. Sounds simple and a little childish, but for me, it has worked.

It has helped me keep my wants in check. It has allowed me to dream of all the fun things I want! Just because I have chosen to live on less does NOT mean that I don't see things that I WANT TO HAVE RIGHT NOW! It just means that I am chosing not to buy them. At least for now.

So that's my latest little thing. It's helping.

What is on YOUR want list?

What have you gotten rid of this week?

Okay, well maybe this week you didn't get around to ditching any items, BUT, did you at least give it some thought?

I am preparing for a LARGE yard sale and cannot wait!!! It's about getting rid of things, and freeing up that space-time-and money!

A few ideas for the best ways to get rid of things:

1. yard sales. always good.
2. swap party. host a swap party and have each person bring 3 or 4 items (clothing, decorations, home accents, jewelry, cookware, etc) and swap them.
3. Sell things at a consignment shop.
4. Craigslist. It CAN work. I just sold a car this week on Craiglist and made a VERY nice profit! i have friends that bought I-Phones off Craigslist this week. It's a great place to sell!
5. Ebay. Don't forget about good ol' Ebay!
6. List it in the paper!
7. Post it on facebook!
8. Donate it and GET A TAX RECIEPT!
9. Give it to someone in need.
10. THROW IT AWAY

Just some thoughts! Let's de-clutter our lives, folks!

What to get rid of and what to keep?

It's so hard to decide what to get rid of and what to keep, isn't it? There are so many things that you would LOVE to get rid of, but when it comes down to it you just can't seem to toss it. Or, at least that's how I am. I get on these great kicks where I am going to get rid of all the "Extra" stuff in my life and then at the very last moment i have a hard time tossing it.

How do you decide what to keep and what to toss?

Here are some questions to ask yourself...

1. When was the LAST time I used this? (wore it, drove it, etc)
That black shirt that you haven't worn in two years? That old car that you were going to fix up but never did, that toaster that only works HALF the time... when did you use these last?
2. Would I realize if it was missing?
This is a tricky one... and it's not very easy to ask yourself, but TRY. If you had never found those black sandles would have looked aimlessly for them? Would you have turned your closet into a diaster to find them? If the answer is no, then you can probably live without them.
3. Does this item hold more than one purpose?
Another hard one to answer... but if you are staring at a purse that you can only carry with ONE outfit, it's probably not worth keeping. If you are holding a skillet that is only used once a year, then it's probably not worth keeping.

These are hard questions to answer. I struggle with this too. I recently switched out my closets and searched through everything to see what I could sell at consignment. the funny thing was that there wasn't many things that I just REALLY wanted to see go. There was nothing that I was tired of, nothing that I could yell "good riddance" at. Ya know what I mean? I don't feel like less of a minimalist for feeling this way. I look at like this...

If it's an article of clothing that it is NOT taking up much space and I WILL wear it, then it doesn't matter if I have another one similar to it. The problem would come in if I just kept it to have it. But if it WILL serve a purpose for me then I am NOT ditching it.

Make sense?

Each person has to figure out what is NOT worth getting rid of. It's all about the mindset. It's all about your reasons for keeping it. If it's to appear that you have more STUFF, then that's probably not a good enough reason.

What are your thoughts on getting rid of items? How do you decide what to keep?


**Last month at the consignment shop I made $63.00 on items that I did NOT want. How great is that???? That is motivation to get rid of MORE!**