giving thanks - a little inspiration

Being home sick isn't always fun. So today in between my cups of hot tea & honey, rest, and what seems like gallons of Airborne or Emergen-C, I was inspired by a craft. Now I'm not generally a crafty person, but I do subscribe to a few blogs that contain a little crafty work and a lot of creativity.

Probably at the end of September I pulled out my box of fall decor and put out what I wanted to use this year. I didn't go overboard (not that I ever do)--just a few candles, a wreath, and a "welcome home" door decoration. I thought that was good enough.

Then I read this blog post today and also had a little time on my hands. You can read here more detailed instructions from the blog that inspired my "Give Thanks" banner. My simple version is this: use 4 kinds of decorated 8 1/2 x 11 paper cut into 4ths, print 3" white, outlined letters, color letters with marker, and arrange paper order before applying letters with a glue stick. Punch two holes at the top and string ribbon through. Seems easy, right? It was.

What inspires you?

more ways to save money

Yesterday I posted how I'm doing with Part 1 so here's my take on Part 2 of Pocketyourdollars.com's 25 ways to save money. 

14. Use coupons.  1/2 Check!
I'm not the best at this, but I do try. The sad part is I often throw out coupons because they expired! But..wait for it...yep, today I used 3 coupons at Target! Oh, and the bonus is that I also used a gift card!

15. As long as you’re in a coupon mood, use virtual coupons too. 1/2 Check!
Ah, yes, coupon codes. I try to search for these whenever I'm buying anything online, but sometimes I forget...

16. Save on health costs. Check!
My normal M.O. is not to go to the doctor. That saves me tons of money!!

17. If you can’t eliminate something, just reduce it by half. N/A
Most of the suggestions here didn't apply to me. The biggest one is that I don't have cable.

18. Make what you have already work better. N/A
Again, most of the suggestions here didn't apply to me.

19. Swap services with friends and family. Check!
I do babysitting for my sister, but not really for anything in exchange. Also, I've offered assistance to many friends and family in need of resume help. Again, nothing really exchanged. 

20. Maximize the money you already have. Work in progress!
I'm not so sure this advice is that great since savings accounts aren't really offering much in the way of interest...I'd love to save more though.

21. Hold a swap meet. X
Ah, not gonna happen.

22. Have some real money with a mortgage overhaul. N/A
No house for me!

23. Avoid fees and save postage. Check!
I don't write checks any more! My bank has free bill pay. The last two checks that I was writing regularly were my rent and my tithe, but a couple of months ago I ditched the checkbook (ok, not literally. It's still in my drawer, but I don't think I'll get new checks anytime soon, hopefully never.)

24. Have it delivered and save. N/AI don't get the paper, even for the coupons...I think with a one-person household there would be too many coupons!! (I'm saving trees by not getting the paper, right?!)

25. When you can’t buy…borrow. Check!
See #11 from yesterday.

So, did you get any new money saving ideas?! I'd love to hear about how you save money!

ways to save money

Sure, in theory I'm always interested in saving money. But practically speaking sometimes I just don't try because of the effort it will take. A recent blog post on pocketyourdollars.com had 13 ways to save and I think they have some good ideas (read their post first--the list below is my version...).

I especially like the ones I'm already doing or have done!

1. Save money by saving gas. CHECK!

The article suggested checking tire pressure and getting oil changes regularly. I hope that it's enough that they check my tires when I get my oil changed, which happens regularly.

2. Collect all of the change in jars, pockets, drawers and purses and put it to work. CHECK!
I don't carry a lot of cash so I don't really have much change. But when I do, I definitely put it to work - doing my laundry!

3. Use what you have before you buy more. 1/2-CHECK!
I'm generally good with this one too, but with only one person in the house, I get tired of using the same shampoo for 3-6 months, so I don't always do this recommendation.

4. You’ve heard it before…switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs. CHECK!
I started switching when I moved into my apartment. It seems like I changed almost every bulb in the first 6 months.

5. Use rechargeable batteries. TO DO!
Don't have much use for batteries until my niece and nephews come over. Then I wish I had rechargeable batteries!

6. Bottle your own water. CHECK!
Sometime this summer I got a faucet filter for home and a pitcher filter for work. This is a great way to help me drink more water and not spend money on the bottled stuff.

7. While you’re at it, make your own coffee. N/A
Nope, still not a coffee drinker.

8. Hang your laundry. TO DO!
I do this only when I run out of quarters!

9. Quit smoking. N/A
Ok, I don't smoke, but I have quit drinking diet pop at work. That saves money!!

10. Cancel your gym membership. N/A
I've actually contemplated joining a gym many times in the last year or so, but opted not to just to save money!

11. Buy stuff used. CHECK!
My car is used. My computer is used. My TV and couch are on loan from sisters.

12. Sell used stuff. CHECK!
I'm pretty good about using things until they are not usable any longer...:) But if I do have stuff that I don't use, I usually give it away or sell it.

13. Call and ask for discounts. TO DO!
I've actually been thinking about calling my credit card company for a while now. I used to call frequently to make sure I was getting the lowest interest rate. It's been a while since I last called. It's going on my list today!
If I remember, I'll post the rest of the list after they post Part 2.

How did you do? What ways are you saving money? Could you be saving more money?



122 blog subscriptions

Yes, I currently subscribe to 122 blogs and am always adding more. No, I don't read everything that is posted; I do, however, stay as current as possible.

How do I do it? Two words:

GOOGLE. READER.

One of the blogs I subscribe to and generally obtain a lot of useful information from is written by the CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, Michael Hyatt. Not sure how I found his blog, but I really do get a lot out of his posts. He regularly challenges me to think, to learn, to read and much more.

I tell people all the time they should use Google Reader. I've thought of posting step-by-step instructions (in fact I found a draft I started about 2 months ago but never published!), but now I don't have to!

Michael Hyatt has written a post for me (ahem, YOU!). Go here to see how it's done!

http://michaelhyatt.com/how-to-use-google-reader-to-keep-up-with-your-favorite-blogs.html

Would love to hear back from you if you're now a Google Reader user or if you have some other format that works for you!

busy month

Yeah! it's finally November!! (November 2nd, to be exact. Did you vote?!!!) October was such a busy month with an event or two or three every weekend!

Oct 2 - Sunday dinner at new friends from church

Oct 9/10 - Client event for work at Chanhassen Dinner Theater (missed a Deo Cantamus Rehearsal); attended my nephew's last Sunday afternoon soccer game

Oct 15/16 - attended (free) play @ PAC in Burnsville with Lindsay; Deo Cantamus Rehearsal

Oct 22/23/24 - two Deo Cantamus Rehearsals and the Concert; work reception desk at church during SS and help in nursery for pm service

You can listen to 6 songs from our concert here: http://www.youtube.com/user/DeoCantamus. The world premier of Josh Bauder's Psalm 149 was especially well received.

Oct 29/30/31 - entertained my niece overnight - watch movies, clean out my car and did some shopping; celebrated my sister's 37th birthday; attended (free) play @ Theater in the Round with Lindsay, again!

...and that was just the weekends!

Oh, yes, work has been super busy too! It seems like in the fall (right after Labor Day to be precise) everyone decides to do the business that was recommended to them over the past 6+ months. Which means lots of processing or form re-generating because the original paperwork is outdated...

One thing I was looking forward to at work was the tour of our new building! We aren't moving until Fall 2011, but we got to tour the new facilities a few weeks ago. Here's a link to the buildings' website: http://701executivesuites.com/facilities.html and a collage of views from pics I took on the 15th floor:

I've been wanting to make my plans for Thanksgiving, but just wanted to get through October! Now that I've written it out here and review the pics from this month, it doesn't seem like that much, then again, maybe it does.

So, what are your Thanksgiving plans?!