Planning Ahead Can Save You Money

For those living in a snowy climate, this is the time of year we long to get away to warmer locales. So many people say a vacation is beyond their reach, but I discovered that with a bit of planning and research, great savings can be realized. Surprisingly, many rewards programs and professional memberships offer significant discounts or the chance to obtain free admission.  For example, we were able to access the Disney parks at no charge, after redeeming our Air Miles reward miles for park passes.

If you plan to stay in a hotel, you’re pretty much destined to eat every meal out and live through the wait times that often accompany dining out. This year we stayed in a villa, an option that was more cost effective than a hotel and afforded us some of the comforts -- and savings -- of being at home.

Travelling to a US destination meant we could purchase anything we needed once we arrived, but realizing we wouldn’t be able to use full packages of everything needed, we threw in a few household items when we were packing. Some of the things we brought along included coffee, sugar, filters and dishwasher pacs. We’d never use full packages of these if purchased after our arrival, and these items were easy enough to pack without risk of leakage or breakage.

If we were really on the ball, we would have packed a lunch on a few days. Maybe it’s a sign of my age, maybe I really do have a healthier diet than I realize, but I couldn’t handle the repeated consumption of pizza and chicken nuggets. We did always pack water for the day. That which costs $0.87 at the grocery store costs a minimum of $2.50 once you’re inside the gates. But before packing your cooler bag, make sure the park you are visiting allows outside food. We learned that visitors’ bags are checked before they are admitted to any park, except on rainy days.  Then it looks like anything goes.

Bon voyage!

Organized Chaos

Organized Chaos. We hear it often, this, the ultimate oxymoron. Many do exist in this state; I suspect with some degree of difficulty. I cannot.  I crave a sense of order. Symmetry. Harmony. I will take a moment to admire a balanced floral arrangement, a properly scaled centrepiece, the mantle that looks as if it was transported from the pages of a magazine.  

But at Christmastime I’m struck by the irony that the thing I enjoy the most is what I can only describe as a beautiful example of organized chaos: the Christmas tree. Unlike the big retailers who erect magical winter wonderlands filled with trees that each have a colour theme, our family puts up a tree that displays a random collection of ornaments.  It’s a mishmash of glass, yarn, felt and pipe cleaners. It reflects bits of nature and holds memories of overseas travel and special events. Nothing is sorted, categorized or assigned a specific home, the hallmarks of organized living.   

Perhaps this example of chaos is accepted because we only have to look at it. Perhaps is can exist because we only look t it. Its purpose is nothing more than to provide aesthetic appeal. It won’t make us late to a meeting, or lose our keys.

But isn’t it true that when chaos takes over our physical space we treat it as a Christmas tree and do little more than look at it? We make a mental note to wash the dishes later. We’ll clear the desk next weekend. Until days become weeks, weeks become months and now things have spiralled out of control.  Chaos has won the battle over organization.  We don’t know how it got to this point, or how to restore order.  We are paralyzed.  

Our Christmas tree analogy can help.  Most people pick a day in January that they will devote to dismantling the Christmas tree and putting away the Christmas decorations. One-by-one, the ornaments are removed from the tree and returned to their dedicated storage container. Space opens up in our home. Life returns to normal – whatever that may be. Why not treat your piles of paper and laundry like the tree? Decide on a time to get started, and address one item at a time.  It won’t come together as quickly or easily packing up after the holidays, but progress can be made.

Kitchen Karma

I have conquered my kitchen.  Like everyone else, I’ve had those days where I’ve opened the refrigerator, grabbed an armful of food, and put it directly into the green bin. I hate those days. But sometimes they happen.  Like when we closed the cottage for the season, and both perishable and non-perishable items came home, creating duplicates or triplicates of what I already had. First I lamented the fact that space was at a premium, then I got creative.

I discovered that salads and tacos are a great way to get rid of small quantities of food. Soup too.  Most important is to be aware of what you’ve got.  Typically, this means that someone, and I do mean one person, has to know what is going into and out of the fridge and pantry, and do some planning. 

I have also discovered that paying attention to schedules and my own energy level makes it easier to manage meals. For example, I’m much more likely to plan and prepare a meal from scratch from Sunday to Wednesday.  I just feel like it. Thursday and Friday are for leftovers, or the forbidden, frozen foods that I can just heat and serve in a jiffy. This is particularly significant for me, because Thursday tends to be a busy day in our household.  There is always a lot of homework and we have an evening commitment. It just isn’t feasible for me to create a culinary masterpiece – or do the requisite clean up.

Saturday is the best day. That’s the day that I’ve relinquished control of the evening meal to my husband. He looks after everything from choosing what to make, getting the groceries, setting the table and cooking.  Clean-up is more of a family affair. It only seems fair.

Free? No Thanks.

As I walked through a department store earlier today, a young lady made eye contact with me and held out her hand.  She was holding a small plastic cup.  In the other hand she held a tray of identical plastic cups.  I kept my distance. “This is for you,” she called out.  “What is it”? “A present.”  “No thank you.”

There is definitely something in our formation that teaches us if something is free, we should take it. Years ago, if I walked by someone handing out flyers, key chains, booklets – whatever it is that they used to promote their product or message – I would stick my hand out and accept whatever they were offering.  Then I noticed that none of these things I brought home interested me.  I never read the booklets and flyers. Never attended the sales or concerts they were advertising. And I already had a key chain.  Why would I put my keys on a piece of swag that promoted a product or company I’d never before heard of? Now, when the lime green and hot pink pieces of paper are waved in my face, or someone holds out a plastic-wrapped trinket of sorts, I just say “No thanks,” and keep on walking.

Another way we accumulate our freebies is with the ever-loved gift with purchase. The cosmetic companies have this one all wrapped up.  Admittedly, when I was in my twenties, I thought this was the best thing ever.  I could buy high-end cosmetic products, and walk away with a bag of free, also high-end cosmetic products.  Perfect!! Whenever I saw the ad, I would plan to purchase a new mascara, new facial scrub, and whatever was needed to meet the minimum purchase requirements.  It’s all good; these were products I used. But when I got home to check out my six sample products, I was usually only interested in two of them. I’d tuck the rest away; I was sure to use them sometime.  

A couple years after moving in to the house I now live in with my family I was baffled. What was all that stuff in my bathroom drawer? I swear I only use four things out of that drawer. I started to dig. Ah . . . the unopened eye shadow I’d gotten five years earlier.  The nail buffer I will never use in this lifetime.  That shimmery powder that I’m not even sure how to use. It was all there.  All the gifts with purchase that I was so excited to get, wasted. There were also a couple new mascaras and an extra facial scrub. The stuff I really wanted was buried beneath the stuff I didn’t care about. I felt kind of foolish, but I had learned something. Just because something is free, doesn’t mean that I will like it, use it, or even want it. Now when the cosmetician reminds me that spending an additional $4 means that I walk away with a free gift, it’s really easy to say, “This is all I need, thanks.”

There are a lot of freebies out there; some in the form of information, some in the form of product. But do you want them? Are they adding value? And if not, just say “no”. You’re not offending anyone, and more importantly, you are putting some thought into what you let into your own life, home and hidden away nooks and crannies.

Back to School, Already?

I can’t believe the summer is coming to an end.  I’ve ironed all the uniform shirts we bought eight weeks ago, and am trying to figure out what I will make for my son’s first lunch at school. I’ve checked the bus route and schedule, and looked ahead to the end of the month to see if I will be able to manage after-school responsibilities on my own, or if I’ll have to ask for help. It’s astounding how much planning has to go into the annual ritual of returning to school. 

I’ve even had to decline invitations for visits that are long overdue.  After work and family, there is only so much time left. I hate to say no to the fun stuff, but I’ve learned from experience that filling the calendar isn’t always the best choice for me. I like white space on any page that I’m reading; apparently that extends to my calendar as well. There is no doubt that while I may not have a scheduled task or event, inevitably, the time will be used up.

So, if you find yourself feeling frenzied as the oh-so-familiar responsibilities of the school year consume your time, remember these few tips:

1.       It’s okay to say “no”.  You will feel better if you leave yourself some time to deal with the other things in your life – or just take time for yourself.  

2.       Plan meals ahead of time.  Meal planning is a pain at the best of times.  I absolutely hate it, but I do believe it’s a necessary evil.  I always feel better when the dinner hour approaches and I have a plan of attack.  

3.       If you’re feeling overwhelmed, say so.  You’re not alone. Chances are, someone will be happy to help you out.

Paper, Paper, Read All About It!

I’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of weeks reviewing every piece of paper read by a family for the last 85 years. I’m not kidding.

For some reason, most people have a great deal of anxiety over what to keep and what to toss. Early on we’re taught that we should keep personal correspondence, like greeting cards and letters—remember when we used to communicate by hand-written letters sent by snail mail? When we assume responsibility for paying the bills, we want to keep them all.  And we can’t forget the investment statements: some come monthly, some quarterly, some semi-annually.  Inevitably, we want to keep all of them as well.

Managing that much paper is a daunting task. Yesterday’s mail is thrown in the bottom of a draw with recipes and newspaper clippings.  Eighty years later, we find the utility bills with the Christmas cards and the file folders brought home at retirement.  None of the paper that has filled our home was useful to us. 

Throwing away a greeting card doesn’t mean you are unappreciative or insensitive.  It just means you’ve made room to receive greetings on the next occasion that your loved ones think of you. Unless you need utility bills for income tax purposes, you really only need last month’s bill to confirm payment was received. If you tear a recipe out of a magazine and don’t make that dish within a couple of months, there is a strong likelihood you never will. Toss the recipe. 

When you find that your collection of paper is too big to manage, consider these tips:

1. Go electronic. Many companies can notify you of bill payments via email.  But be careful: electronic communication is not for everyone —I personally prefer receiving a hard copy of my credit card statements. But once the bill is paid, the statement is filed. Once I receive next month’s statement and confirm my payment was received, I shred last month’s statement.
2. Have a system for the paper you do keep. That means file what you keep, and set a time limit for how long you will keep it. Filing makes it easy to find what you need. And who knows? When you discover that you only go to the file cabinet to put more in, and never to refer to its contents, you may realize that you’re keeping more than you need. 
3. Throw away the envelopes.  Keeping everything in an envelope means you have to take the extra step of removing the item from the envelope in order to identify it. Envelopes are just paper with no value.  
4. Throw away the marketing pieces.  The glossy papers that accompany your statements usually advertise time-limited offers, or announce imminent changes. Six months down the road, they’re useless.

We all have to keep some amount of paper.  Let’s just try to keep what is truly of value.

The Value of Baby Steps

On Easter Sunday I had quite a shock when I discovered that my accountant wanted my 2011 taxes submitted by the end of the week. I didn’t know how I would ever make the deadline. I was always planning to get to it. I don’t know how many time s I said, “I’m going to finish my taxes today”. But in my mind, I still had a couple of weeks, not a couple of days. Birthday parties and the holiday celebration were my top priorities. Taxes hadn’t made it on to my radar yet.

Monday morning, bright and early, I got to it. The bulk of my expense entries were already in place; I maintain my tax records throughout the year. But sometimes the day-to-day gets a bit overwhelming , and some important tasks, (in this case, tax entries), slip through the cracks. I had some homework to do. Miraculously, juggling work and family, I was able to finalize my tax package within two days and get it into my accountant with time to spare.

In the end, it all worked out because I had been taking small steps along the way to keep my taxes in order. We can’t underestimate the benefits of doing a little bit of something at a time, no
matter how tedious it may seem.

Ironically, I came across one last receipt this morning. As I vowed to never again mismanage my time with regard to recordkeeping, I wondered if that final charge would make it into my 2011 tax return, or if it would remain a reminder for the coming year.