Menu plan, week of 2/14/11

So what am I going to eat this week? Well that is an excellent question. I am getting low on some pre-made goodies so I might need to schedule a freezer cooking session sometime in the near future. Perhaps on Sunday?

Breakfasts
Oatmeal, fruit

Lunches:
Peanut butter sandwiches, leftovers

Dinners:
Chicken with steamed veggies, cous cous
Pasta with meat sauce and salad

Milestones

Ok yes I took a picture (but don't worry, I didn't take it while driving!)

My car hit a major milestone this week - 100,000 miles! Can you believe it?!? I got the car new in June 2003 so all of these miles were with me in the car. We've had some good times!

This is another example of how little steps can lead to something larger. Individual miles aren't much on their own but take 7 1/2 years worth of miles and you have 100,000. The same applies to nearly everything. Saving a few pennies here and there doesn't seem like much, but look at that savings over the course of a year - or even a decade - and it adds up to a significant amount. If you would have asked me 7 1/2 years ago where I would be at 100,000 miles I can guarantee you that I would not give you the answer that is my reality right now.

Anyway this got me thinking. For some reason, I am often asked when I plan on getting a new car. Because I can 'afford' to get a new car and 'afford' to have a car payment, it is assumed that I would want to do that. The thing is - I don't. My car is paid for. My car works just fine. I like my car. Why would I trade that for a monthly payment when I don't have to? I plan on getting a new car when this one stops working and I am hoping that won't be for a very long time! :)

Frugal Tip: Car Maintenance

I pretend to be 'handy' around the house but when it comes to cars, I can't even fake it. So I leave all major car maintenance concerns to the professionals at my friendly local Honda dealership. Because it is important to me to keep my car running in tip top shape, I consider this money well spent.

So how do you save money on car maintenance when you know NOTHING about cars? Easy - do the things you know you can do.

I can't change my oil, rotate my tires, or do any of the standard vehicle maintenance things that are necessary to keep my car running. But, I can top off the fluids, change the windshield wipers, and keep the car clean and vacuumed. All of these are very simple and require very little skill. And by doing these myself I save $$!

Small organizational project

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I always seem to be on the lookout for ways to organize and streamline my life. It is amazing how much of a difference a small change can make.

Recently I installed some hooks in my closet to hold belts. I initially purchased this set of hooks as a key hook but I ended up using something else to keep my keys organized.

I only have 2 belts - one black and one brown - but it is amazing how easily I can misplace them! Prior to installing these hooks I'd just keep my belts sitting on the top shelf in my closet. I can't reach things up there very well so it wasn't a great storage place for them.

So now they are easily accessible right inside the closet door.

Why I make my bed

I had an interesting conversation with a friend recently about motivation and why people are motivated by different things. It really got me thinking about why I do the things that I do.

It is no secret that I am motivated by setting goals and making lists. I am much more likely to do something if it is written out in front of me. Accountability is also important to me, but I don't need it for everything. For financial goals I like to have an accountability partner (thanks Jack's mom!) to keep me on track. But for cleaning, I am fine being accountable to myself.

It seems that I am in the minority for my love of having a clean and tidy house. It is not difficult for me to keep up my motivation for this.

My friend asked me why I make my bed every day. I took a little while to think about this and the best answer I could come up with is that it makes me happy and starts my day off right. Yes, I could absolutely survive without making my bed every morning. However, I find that when I start my day with an act of organization such as making my bed, I am committing to continue my day in an organized and purposeful way.

You may remember what happens when I don't follow my schedule. It is bad. Could I get through life with a messy house and disorganized life? Absolutely. But I would probably end up wasting money, wasting time, and in general not having as much fun.

To some it may seem silly that the simple act of making my bed can make all the difference in how my day goes, but for me it makes perfect sense. Maybe I'm in the minority on this one but it works for me and that's all that matters!

Organizational System Update

So I've been using my new organizational system for about a month now and I am LOVING it! Seriously, why didn't I do this before? I love seeing exactly which chores I still need to do. Also, knowing that I can pick and choose chores depending on my schedule/mood that week really helps to keep my motivation up.

Anyway, since I do most of those chores once every 2 weeks, I have found that I am starting realize it would be nice to know how long it has been since I last did something. From my list I can easily see that I've accomplished it during my 2 week period but I don't remember exactly when I did it.

So I have tweaked my system. Instead of just putting a mark to indicate that I've finished something, I am now putting the date.


I think this will really help me stay on top of things a lot better.

I've also realized that it is important to allow myself the ability to change things. What works for me now might not work for me next year. Similarly, what works for you might not work for me. Being efficient is all about figuring out the best system for you at this moment.

CVS Trip

I am really trying hard to maximize my grocery dollars this month to see if spending $20/person/week is a realistic goal for me. One way to do this is to play the drug store game. I tend to focus on CVS because it is the closest store to me and it is much easier to pay attention to only 1 store at a time. There are only so many hours in a day, you know!

This challenge is different than a typical "eating from the pantry challenge." I am not trying to minimize my spending. I am still shopping as I typically would and when possible I am building my stockpile so that I don't pay full price for items in the future.

So, with $3.50 in ECBs and a $3/$15 coupon burning a hole in my pocket, I headed to CVS with the goal of adding to my stockpile.

This is what I got:


Grand total: Around $7 including tax plus I earned $2 ECBs back that I will roll into another deal. Not bad considering each laundry detergent retails for $7.

I haven't bought laundry detergent in over a year and these bottles combined with what I still have left will probably last me close to that long again. So cross laundry detergent off the list of things to buy in 2011 :)